The Perfect Replica
by seaoftrees
Summary: (Post-Game) A new form of fomicry has been created with the ability to recreate a replica intact with the original's memories. When an old foe comes back from the grave, it's up to Luke to stop him, but first, he has to find a way to save himself-along with an unexpected ally. Luke soon finds himself wondering who's really in charge, and how long until time runs out?
1. Black and White

Thick, dark velvet air lined his sinuses and crawled inside his throat, scratching its way in and out with every pained breath. It was humid but still clammy, the perfect weather for a prison cell.

Or wherever he actually was.

He sat up only being immediately forced back to the ground due to a sharp stab in his abdomen. After a couple ragged gasps, he slowly pulled himself up off the ground and slumped against a wall. The agony in his stomach definitely wasn't internal, and he shuddered as his fingers skimmed across the open wound.

His entire body felt stiff, almost as if bending over would break him in half. His hair and clothes were caked in sweat and dirt, giving him a lovely smell. Slipping off his wrecked jacket helped alleviate the heat of the room, but didn't lighten the load of the oppressive darkness. The second he took off the coat the smell embedded within the cloth overpowered him. It was the nostalgic stench of the night when he got food poisoning, or when he got the flu when he was little; he'd definitely thrown up at some point during his stay here.

The dizziness and disorientation weren't the worst of his worries. How the hell did he even get himself in this mess? His thoughts were slipping out in sputtering phrases and quick flashes that were untraceable and unfocused. Camera flashes of earlier, happier times would appear only to be taken away the next moment, leaving lingering depression surrounding him.

From the weakness eating up at his consciousness, it was obvious that he didn't even know half of the ailments plaguing him.

_/_That doesn't matter though, it's not like I could fix them even if I knew what was wrong./

The unique flooring had a certain reminiscent quality to the ones in the Baticul castle dungeon. The only reason he even knew the flooring was close to the same texture is because of when he slipped and face-planted into the polished cobblestone. Natalia sure did get a kick out of that, not to mention the snickering guards who found it equally funny.

/Wait, where was everyone?/

/Are they in the cell too?/

No, it was too quiet to have six other people in the same cell as him. Besides, someone surely would have said something about the multiple times he had emptied his stomach recently. Even if it would've been a snide comment from Jade, he would've welcomed it over the oppressive silence.

/Am I in trouble, or worse, was everyone else?/

Exhaustion began to set in and his memory began to blur. The more he tried to piece together, the more questions popped up in his head. Luke was unable to take the splitting pain beneath his forehead, and he shifted away from his ruined clothes to put his forehead on the cool flooring. His eyes shut, but his consciousness did not seem to follow; his mind was lost in waves of pain.

* * *

A pure, florescent light enveloped him. The room was a sterile outline of white, blinding and purifying.

He felt forced into consciousness, like he was being violently shaken or as if someone had splashed water upon him. The rapid awakening was unexpected to say the least.

He had already succumbed to the sweet scent of death, hadn't he?

His head felt like the ocean, constantly caught in the push and pull between awake and asleep. Slowly, his eyes flickered open and he pulled himself from the pain in his head and back into the room. He had the sudden urge to stand, or do anything, almost as if he had to prove to himself that he was actually alive.

He had to dance around wires and tubes connecting him like shackles to the bed and the organized equipment piled next to it to stand up. Shaking, he held onto the side of the bed until he could keep his balance independently, although he stayed close in case a wave of dizziness knocked him down.

/I shouldn't be here./

He looked down at his hands and sure enough, they were opaque and tangible; he was no longer a lost conscious. He no longer belonged to death; he was here.

/I shouldn't be here, but I am./

Looking up, he saw a nostalgic figure eyeing him with piqued curiosity. A thin strip of plexiglass separated them, but he could feel the man's presence as if he was standing right next to him. Asch pulled his eyes away and inspected the room instead. It seemed like the cell was modeled after an ICU unit, heart monitor and all. He noticed all the tubes and followed their thin, snake-like bodies with his eyes. They connected his arm with another hissing machine, and his nose had two thin tubes leading to an oxygen tank.

/Think, think. There's an explanation for this, there has to be. Let's start with the basics. What's the last thing I remember?/

He remembered Eldrant, and how he had barely been able to land. He remembered how much pain he had been in, and how little time he had left. Eyes widening, he remembered his battle with Luke, and in turn, his loss. He remembered the argument, the bitter lies he told Luke, and his ignorance even in death. _All of it_, he cursed mentally, _I remember all of it_.

/I remember... I died that day. I was dead. I shouldn't be here./

The word '_dead'_ played on repeat in his head. People don't come back from the dead, and they definitely shouldn't come back to life. And yet, he thought while admiring his hands; he was here.

"Are you mute, or too insolent to talk?"

Asch spun around with hatred in his eyes. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had the cleverness to outsmart death.

"Good to see you too, Vandesdelca, " Asch spat back.


	2. Watched Like a Hawk

Luke's eyes slowly fluttered open and instantly the pain hit him. Memories started to crash into one another and his brain felt like a pinball machine. Everything was still pitch black, and he was still collapsed on the same clammy floor, except he couldn't move this time.

He struggled to lift himself up but his arms were limp; he was paralyzed. Something was dragging his mind down into quicksand, and it became frighteningly obvious that he was going to lose consciousness soon.

He again tried to move his body, even blink his eyes, but he was completely immobile.

A tugging sensation in the back of his mind grew more frantic as he tried to regain control of his body. He could feel his mind getting pulled elsewhere, far away from this hell. It was as if his spirit was getting drawn away from his body, and the harder he fought against it, the more tension was created between him and reality. His own head had become a mental prison, and his thoughts were the inmates.

His conscience began to pull away from his body, almost like when Asch used to try to contact him. But this was much stronger, much more portentous than their friendly conversations.

/if you would've called our conversations friendly./

Luke dug his fingernails into the cobblestone in a last attempt to regain control. He could feel himself wavering like a flickering candle and held on the ground as if it would save him from the nightmare around him. His nails cracked and his fingertips skinned until he collapsed and blacked out once again.

* * *

Asch was mentally and physically exhausted; the researchers had no mercy when it came to tests. Still, he sat upright on the edge of his bed, eyes warily surveying the men on the other side of the glass. He knew he didn't have much time left due to the way they spoke in hushed murmurs and carefully avoided eye contact with him.

Van was furious that the experiment had failed, or at least Asch assumed by the frequent visits he took the 'waiting room' on the other side of the glass. He had violent hand gestures and poisonous words, and the researchers cowered behind their clipboards. Eventually, Van would rub his brow and silently leave the room, retaining the same controlled disposition he had before entering.

/Are they trying to create a person capable of hyperresonance again? When I died, my abilities left me for good./

They no longer had any reason to keep him alive; the experiment was a failure. An experiment he hadn't been aware of till he had done a good bit of snooping over clipboards and files left in the room, intended to be picked up before he could read them. The amount of tests they'd performed on him was in the dozens and none of them had met up to the expectations of the researchers; he could see it in their expressions. He always responded with looks of hatred and disgust, sometimes spitting or screaming when they tried to hold him down to take blood.

/What worthless people, looking over their research like I'm some pitiful animal. They're treating me like a guinea pig. I swear, if I had my way I'd kill them all./

Which he had tried a total of four times, each assault thwarted by heavy doses of morphine.

/I could care less about their smug faces, it's the results that are worrisome. The only reason I'm alive at this point is for some unknown purpose, and if i fail to meet their expectations, then surely.../

Asch winced at the sudden realization. He knew he didn't have much time to find an escape before they got rid of the evidence of such a failure. Before they got rid of him. Asch propped himself up on the bed and slowly ran his fingers through his hair.

/If I can't create a hyperresonance, I'm nothing. I'm trash, no, I'm much worse. I've been reduced to the title of 'Replica' or 'Lab Experiment'. I'm the same as.../

Asch's eyes widened when he realized that Luke was absent from this entire picture.

/Is he even alive?/

Slowly, he pulled himself out of his misery and walked over to the makeshift window. It was a good thing all the tubes and wires had been removed from his body or else he would've gone crazy from sitting that long with nothing to do.

The men on the other side didn't even notice his intrusion, caught up in some havoc on their laptops. One was reading off numbers,while the other was typing furiously. It was a small space, but was still unorganized and messy with wires and paper strewn across the desks and floor.

The most interesting thing was a monitor on the right wall. The screen faced slightly away from Asch's field of view, so he pressed his face to the glass to get a better perspective. From what he could tell, the screen was divided into four different windows.

/A surveillance screen? They've watched my every move, haven't they?/

Asch cursed under his breath; he should've known. He leaned in a little closer and saw the far right section of the screen had a view of the hall. The second section was completely black, as if the connection was lost. The top left portion had a view of the room he was in now, and he could see his figure pressed up to the glass from behind.

/So they have watched me. You'd think the amount of people coming in and out of this room would be enough./

He rolled his eyes and looked back in the window. The last square was in night vision, or at least he assumed due to the green hue, and it was pretty awful quality. Asch squinted his eyes and craned his neck to get a better look.

/No.../

/It's not possible.../


	3. Make Your Choice

Aghast, Asch staggered backward towards his bed. He couldn't lose it now, not when he had so little time left.

He had underestimated everything that was going on here, _everything_. Paying attention to the cameras, he managed to stay calm and keep a straight face even though his insides had soured.

/Why wouldn't they just use the old replica data they used to create Luke in the first place? Why the hell would they even need to recreate me in the first place?/

Slowly, he leaned back on the sheets and closed his eyes. He needed to think, to process, and to find a way out of this for the both of them. It was obvious that they couldn't use the old research data for some reason. It was flawed and incomplete, and it seems they had invented a better system.

/I came back with my old memories and I'm assuming Van did, too. That explains why Luke is here; they're just using him to recreate me./

Asch winced, remembering the screen. Even with the grainy resolution, it wasn't hard to see all the bloodstained flooring. Luke's hairstyle was just as easy to notice, and regrettably so was his crumpled up body.

/If he's so valuable to them, why the hell do they have to treat him like an animal?/

Fury filled Asch and made his blood boil, not only because of what was happening but because he couldn't do anything about it. He was confined in this little room just waiting for his death and again. Luke was going to die, and he couldn't do anything about it. Or could he?

/Technically, Luke is the original at this point, isn't he? But Luke had contacted me before when I was the original, and although the connection was weak and barely coherent, it was better than nothing. Anything is better than sitting here useless./

Asch brushed that thought off and focused on clearing out all the unnecessary thoughts from his mind. His breathing began to slow down, and he relaxed his tensed face. His lungs began to follow a silent rhythm like the waves crashing on the beach; like the soft sound of raindrops tapping on the roof.

Inhale. Asch felt nothing but cold shivers running up and down his spine.

Exhale. Still no response, but Asch refused to grow impatient.

Inhale. It felt like he was slipping into a dark haze, lonely and unfriendly.

Exhale. Darkness surrounded him, trapped him, consumed him.

Inhale. Asch could feel a faint whisper amidst the suffocating blackness, but deciding which direction it came from was almost like he was trying to catch smoke.

Exhale. Someone was definitely trying to respond, but the connection was too weak.

/No! I can't lose it now, I'm so close!/

Asch could no longer hear himself breathing, in fact, he couldn't hear anything. The smoke that had surrounded him was now viscous and tangible, as if he was swimming through thick mud. He could feel himself growing more and more tired, almost unable to keep his head above the sea of mud. So he didn't.

Asch let himself slide down, deeper and deeper. His voice was coarse and harsh, but he still called out, hoping for any kind of acknowledgment. Luke's name echoed around in the undefinable space, but there was no response.

And suddenly, there was.

"Is that really you, Asch?"

* * *

Luke felt dumbfounded, and the same look seemed to be plastered on Asch's face.

But Asch was dead, wasn't he?

"Luke, what the hell is going on?" Asch spat out after a long period of silence.

This was definitely Asch, alright. No matter how nonchalant he tried to look, the worry reflected in his eyes meant Asch knew exactly what was going on. However, the fact that he was coming to Luke for help meant he had no idea how to fix it.

"I could be asking you the same thing. Where did you, I mean, how are you even here?" Luke forced out the words, and even after one sentence he could feel the connection weakening.

Asch obviously felt it too, because he immediately cut out the anger from his disposition and walked closer to Luke. It looked as if he was almost concerned, eyeing Luke from head to toe and making a slow, circular pace around Luke.

Raising an eyebrow, Asch finally muttered, " What happened to you?"

Luke bit his lip, unable to look down himself. He knew he was in bad shape from the clawing pain surrounding him, but he couldn't focus on that now. Besides, Asch had completely avoided his question. Apparently he wasn't going to get an answer either.

Hoping that Asch wouldn't notice any more injuries, Luke scratched at the back of his head and stuttered," N-Never mind that, we should focus on how to get out of this i-instead. Where are you now?"

"We're in the same building, I know that much. I'm in a medical room and they watch me twenty-four seven. Although,"Asch's voice began to trail off into an angry mutter, "I think I've overstayed my welcome."

Asch stared off into space for a second, but then continued," Did you see anything on your way in here? A map, maybe, or even an exit?"

_Good, he didn't notice,_ Luke thought in relief, glad he wasn't worrying Asch more than he had to.

He didn't remember any maps or floor plans, but he knew where the medical area was. They had led him there recently, and if he remembered correctly, there was an emergency exit at the end of the hall.

After telling Asch this, he watched him begin to pace and run his hands through his hair. He was mumbling and thinking through different escape ideas, but Luke could no longer focus. Asch stopped pacing and looked over with concern as Luke staggered once again, but this time he fell down to his hands and knees, resisting the urge to pass out.

Asch began to run over to him, but he was too late. Luke watched his image began to fade and became transparent.

He weakly called out to him, but there was no answer.

Asch had disappeared.

* * *

Asch immediately sat up, his forehead covered in sweat but his body still had chills. The room was unnaturally empty, including the area where the researchers watched him from.

/Something's definitely wrong here./

If no one had woken him up, than Luke must have lost control of the connection. With a dull sigh, Asch pulled himself from the bed and walked over to the window.

/He even tried to pretend like he wasn't hurt, what an idiot! As if i didn't notice you couldn't even stand up. How is it possible to lie that horribly?/

Asch put aside his anger when he saw that the surveillance monitor was no longer watching him. It was completely cut off, actually, the screen a buzz of black and white squares fighting against each other. He looked over at Luke's screen and saw he was actually awake, but he wasn't doing much. It was almost as if he kept trying to stand up but slumping almost immediately after detaching himself from the wall.

Asch gave out another deep sigh at the pitiful sight, but it was good news that he was conscious. It would make escaping much easier.

/Wait, if there's no one in my room, and the camera is off, then absolutely no one is watching me. This is as perfect time as any to escape!/

He wasn't too happy about escaping in this hospital gown, since that meant his original clothes would be left here. However, this wasn't the best time to complain. He crept up to the door and pressed his ear against it. There wasn't any noise on the other side. He reached for the doorknob and slowly twisted it, but before he could pull the door open, it opened itself.

Asch raced away from the door and to the adjacent wall, hoping whoever was on the other side of the door didn't notice his attempt to escape. It seems they didn't notice or didn't care since they headed straight for the table and machinery next to it.

/Just a researcher, what a relief. But what would he want with that pile of junk, anyway?/

He had been hooked up to those machines not too long ago, unfortunately, but only for a couple of days at most.

The researcher paid him no mind as he lifted the oxygen tank, heart monitor and other miscellaneous devices on a cart and wheeled it away. It was almost as if they were emptying the room, like maids at a hotel. But they left him here; they had yet to clean him up and throw him away. How much longer did he have left?

As if an answer to his question, someone slowly let himself in and shut the door behind his back. Asch heard a lock click and shuddered at the noise.

/This is it. It's now or never./

What Asch didn't understand was how one feeble researcher expected to take him down. All the man had on him was a walkie-talkie and a needle, both with obvious purposes. The needle was filled with a clear liquid, which he assumed as poison. Wouldn't a gun be more efficient?

"Do you really expect to kill me all by yourself?" Asch sneered, folding his arms.

"Ah, at least you understand the severity of the situation. No, I don't expect you to put up much a fight actually," The researchers response was calm and cool, not a hint of sarcasm within the words.

"Are you kidding me? Why the hell would I do anything you say?" He felt infuriated now, unable to control himself.

"You're right, you're right. It's all your choice. Would you rather die, or shall it be your friend down the hall?"

/Friend down the hall? What the hell is he talking about?/

Asch froze.

It was so obvious now, so blindingly obvious. From the beginning, there was only supposed to be one, and in the end, there would only be one. Asch cursed under his breath and saw the researcher find satisfaction in that, grinning madly.

/They set this all up, didn't they? The monitors, the papers 'accidentally' left out, everything! What the hell is actually going on here? This isn't about hyperresonance at all, is it?/

"So what'll it be? You, or that boy already on the edge of death. He refused to help us in our research, which is why we had to use force. It's all his own fault in the end."

/Refused to help?/

"You don't have all day, Asch. Make your choice: you, or him."


	4. Aschs to Asches

Asch looked wildly around the room, hoping for something, anything, to help him escape. However, the room had been emptied, and all that was left was the doctor and he.

/I'm like a cornered animal, and to make matters worse, this guy's disgusting face makes me want to hurl. Why the hell does he look so happy with himself?/

"Why are you doing this? Who's paying you to ruin people's lives? Did your daddy not love you, is that why you take so much joy out of killing people?" Asch countered as he put his hands on his hips.

/What better way to buy time then let this idiot have a taste of his own sarcastic attitude. I wonder if Luke's doing okay. Maybe they're just messing with me; maybe there's no one waiting for an order to kill Luke./

Asch taunted and mocked him until his assassin's turned a lovely shade of purple. His real motive, though, was that he desperately wanted to see what was going on in Luke's room. All he wanted to know was that this was a bluff: a trick, a silly, little game. He knew not to get his hopes up, especially with his track record of bad luck, but he had nothing to work with at this point.

The man soon began shaking his fist back and forth while stomping his feet at Asch, arguing about how his pursuit of knowledge was much more important than some replica's feelings.

/I think I see steam coming out of his ears. Or maybe it's just more of that slimy grey hair crowding around his face./

The word replica left an unnatural sting, but Asch brushed it off. It was true, after all.

Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at the monitor which had yet to be removed from the room adjacent from his. There was definitely another man in Luke's room now, but he was much more relaxed. He could distinguish what looked like a walkie-talkie in one hand, but the mans other arm was unseeable from the angle of the camera. The guard was making gestures as if he was attempting at a conversation, but Luke seemed pretty unresponsive.

He glanced back over at the man on the other side of the room, still yelling and howling at him. He had a shorter temper than, well, himself.

All he had to do was get the walkie-talkie away from him, right? Then he couldn't contact anyone.

But if he focused on the walkie-talkie, then he still had a good chance of getting stung by the needle. It still came down to who he was going to save first; Luke, or himself?

"Are you still trying to find a way out of this? You're Asch the Bloody, aren't you, the slayer of millions? What's one more life to add to your bloodstained hands? Now, go on, make your choice before I do and end all this childish drama," he sneered, hoping for a rise out of Asch this time.

/It seems like a waste of time to go to all the work of creating me just to kill me a few days later. There's some reason behind all of this, there has to be!/

Asch, however, kept his cool disposition and folded his arms. At least, he tried to look calm on the outside. On the inside he was about to scream from anger.

He watched the needle swing lazily in the man's left hand, while the walkie-talkie was grasped tightly in the other.

"Fine, you miserable little man. You want to know what I choose?"

The man rolled his eyes and said, "Obviously, you little brat. Come on, come on, we don't have all day."

"Alright," Asch said as he shrugged his shoulders, "I choose neither."

Asch swung his right arm at the man's face, but missed by a few inches. The man laughed and casually tried to push Asch away from him with his arm, leaving the opening Asch was waiting for. Asch quickly took his left elbow and jammed the man in the stomach, while his right hand forcefully snatched the walkie-talkie. When the man recovered on the ground from the wind being knocked out of him, Asch smashed the walkie-talkie against the wall. The needle problem seemed to take care of itself, because when the man fell, he crushed the barrel in his hand.

/Did they really think I was just going to bow down and play dead? Surely they had better planning than this! Not that I'm complaining./

Looking back at the man still on his hands and knees, Asch smirked and swung his foot out, aiming for the man's face. Almost in slow motion, Asch noticed the man seemed to be talking, or at least his mouth was moving. Fear clouded his eyes when he realized this man wasn't a fighter, at least not in hand-to-hand contact.

He was a fonist.

Asch immediately regretted when his foot connected with the man's stout face. Not saying it didn't feel good to kick the smug smile off his face, but he knew what was coming. The guy didn't even flinch, he just looked up with anger in his eyes.

Asch tried to back up, but he was too late. He heard the man shout something, and the glass on the window began to vibrate. The pressure in the room burst his eardrums and he felt his skin crawl.

/Yeah, way too late./

A gust of wind overwhelmed him and thrust his body straight through the dividing window in a flurry of shattered glass. With a loud bang, Asch smashed into the wall on the other side and collided into the monitor with his right shoulder. The wind slowly died down, and Asch fell to the floor in a crumpled pile. He groaned loudly and tried to shake off the glass and littered paper scraps from his hair.

/This is seriously getting worse by the minute. How could I be so stupid to underestimate the severity of this situation? Does being an replica automatically make you an idiot?/

Asch quickly pulled himself up to a standing position and tore the serrated fragments of glass out of his arms. He glanced over at the man who was breathing heavily and bent over, but other than that was perfectly unharmed.

/It doesn't matter how powerful his artes are if he isn't in shape to use them. He'll recover though, and I have to find a way out before he does./

His legs trembled and shook, and he slumped against the wall.

/What's going on? This would be the worst time to have my legs lock up or cramp./

Looking down, he realized a giant shard of the window was embedded in his leg. It stretched from just below his knee to the middle of his calf, and was skewered straight through his leg. The bottom half of his leg was stained red, and the oozing blood was now dripping down his foot and on the floor.

/Blood.. there's blood everywhere. I think the fear is blocking the pain, because I can't feel anything other than pure adrenaline. How the hell am I supposed to escape now?/

He couldn't just pull the fragment out because he would only lose blood faster, but leaving it in didn't put him in a better situation to escape.

He got on his hands and knees and crawled for the door in this room, taking the weight off his injured leg. There wasn't an inch of him that hadn't been cut by the glass, including his face, but his left leg was in much worse condition than the rest. Glass began to pierce his hands as he continued to crawl, but that was the least of his problems. He prayed for the door to open, even though he knew they wouldn't be that ignorant as to leave it unlocked. Sweat was unnaturally dripping off his brow, and the room felt like a sauna. The acrid air began to claw at his throat in between his pained gasps for air. It hadn't been this hot before had it? Surely he would have noticed the temperature change beforehand, right?

Suddenly, it came to him; he knew exactly why it was hot.

Asch ignored the pain in his leg and lunged for the door. He twisted at the knob, but it was no use. The door was locked. An unusual heat surrounded the doorknob, and when he pulled his hand back it felt burnt.

Asch slid back down to the floor and leaned his back against the door. He was sticky with blood and drenched with sweat at this point; his entire body was screaming for water. He felt as if there wasn't any air left in the room, and every inhale was coating his nose and throat with fire. He finally understood his fate; the man intended to burn him alive.

/Well, this is it, I guess./

Asch looked down at his bloodstained hands, and even though the heat was warping the air, he could still see his dirty palms. They were coated with blood; his own blood. The cracked skin was dry and calloused, even though he hadn't even picked up a sword since he had been here.

/Some things just never change. In the end, I deserve this as punishment for all the people I've killed, don't I? This is just karma catching up with me, isn't it? Or maybe it's just my bad luck./

His hearing was coming back, as if it mattered, because he could hear the man's voice shouting out the incantations for the arte. It sure was taking him awhile to build up the energy, which Asch could only assume meant this wasn't some amateur little arte. They probably weren't even going to be able to find his bones in the aftermath of the fire. All that would be left of him was powder, tiny bits of ash.

Slowly, the man's voice began to fade out, and it sounded as if Asch was underwater. The room was spinning, and there was no air left to breathe. He was drowning, lost beneath the waves of flame and fire slowly crawling up from the tiles.

Asch's brain was shutting down from the heat, and his thoughts were incoherent and spaced out like a bad phone connection. He tried to hold on to his train of thought, convinced he was on to something.

/If there was no oxygen in the room, there'd be no way for him to do anything. He'd be like a wet match./

But how could he get rid of the oxygen in the room? It was a pointless thought in the first place.

/Not if I could condense it into something nice. Like water. Water sounds really nice./

Asch smiled fondly at the thought of water. He relaxed his face, thinking back to the times he and Guy had snuck out to go see the sunrise over the ocean. Everything was so simple back then, so easy. The sunrise was a red blaze on the dark indigo waves, a perfect harmony of fire and water.

/Water is one of the easiest fonons to manipulate, or at least it's easier to control than fire. I remember when Van first taught me to use water fonons, always scolding me when I brushed him off for 'cooler' sword techniques./

He pulled his hand up in front of his face and saw how much he was trembling within the heat waves. Slowly, he brought his thumb towards his index and middle finger, making a weak snapping noise. A feeble, blue spark flew into the air, and a stream of water began to flow from his wrist down to the floor, causing a large mass of hissing noises from a nearby cluster of flames.

He hadn't really thought about it until now, maybe because he hadn't needed it. The spritz of water seemed to snap Asch out of his daze and he instinctively held out his hands. He focused on the fourth fonon of water, but it was hard to keep his arms out. The fire had sapped out all the energy from his body, and holding up his arms left him a shaking mess. He tried to steady the tremors running up and down his body; all he had to do was create a barricade between himself and the wall of fire.

The flames let out a wild roar and began ripping at the wallpaper and tearing into the drywall. Asch choked inaudibly at the thick, curling smoke that now filled the small space and surrounded his body. It hugged the ceiling and condensed itself a little above Asch's head, but still close enough to sting at his eyes and nose. The smell of burning plastic and wood, however, dared to go where the smoke wouldn't and filled the room from the bottom up.

His hands fell to his sides and he realized it was no use; he didn't even have enough strength to hold himself up anymore. The only thing he could do was to get as low as possible so he wouldn't die from smoke inhalation first.

/What's he gonna do, set this whole building on fire? I wonder if Luke is in the same situation now, thinking the same thoughts as me while he waits for the end. Surely they'll make his death less painless, right?/

There was no more time left for his guilty thoughts. The roar of the blaze climbed over into Asch's side of the room through the absence of the window, scorching the paper on the ground and melting the glass shards. Smoke no longer kept its distance and surrounded him, filling his lungs will black tar. The floor was now covered in puddles of liquid glass attempting to melt down through the tile. What was the most frightening, however, was the steady rise of pain in his left leg. The fragment still left in his leg began to burn into his flesh; the glass was searing his skin in a white-hot rage.

Asch cursed out in pain and shut his eyes, unable to bear the heat and smoke any longer. He pulled his legs up closer to his chest, as if he was curling up in bed to prevent a nightmare. The short breaths he took soon became long wheezes, and all he inhaled was more smoke. He hid his face in his hands and screamed as the flames began to lick at his skin. The pain crept up closer, attacking every single nerve with pin-like jabs. Fire now devoured both rooms, not an inch of it safe from the roaring blaze. Not even Asch.

/I do not want to die like this. No, dammit, I won't die like this! Luke's counting on me, that idiot can't do anything himself. I can't die here. I don't want to die like this!/

And then suddenly, there was no pain. A cool wave of relief encircled his body. Asch pulled his head from his hands and coughed violently, expelling the vile smoke back into the room. Except when he inhaled, all that replaced it was fresh air. He looked around and saw the fire still sizzling and gnawing at the walls, but it ignored him, leaving about half a foot of space between the blaze and he. After squinting his eyes, he could distinguish a transparent, thick wall of water separating him from the fire. Asch let out a hoarse sigh of relief and pulled himself to a sitting position. A stupid grin was plastered to his face, something not familiar to him, but he just couldn't help but smile.

He was alive.

The door had completely eroded from the fire, and with one feeble punch it fell apart into several pieces of burning wood. Curiously enough, the fire hadn't escaped into the hall, as if it was satisfied with the room alone. Asch carefully crawled over the pieces of the burning door and then slipped them back into the destroyed room. Once he has crawled out and was in the cool safety of the hall, Asch lost control of the water that surrounded him. Which wasn't very smart, because he was now soaked.

/Shouldn't this hall have more people in it? Not that I'm complaining. Speaking of missing people, where is Van, anyway? You'd think he'd want a front row seat of my execution./

He had bigger things to worry about at this point, like saving Luke. Or even saving himself. Asch looked back over at the room and saw how artfully the smoke and flames were contained within the room; he couldn't even smell the smoke from outside.

/I guess he didn't want to set off the smoke alarm. Whatever. First things first, I need to find Luke. That horrible man said 'my friend down the hall', right? Were they really ignorant enough to put us so close?/

Asch glanced down to the left and saw two rooms branching off from the main hall, both with the lights off. They looked as if they hadn't been used in months. At the end of the same hall, there was the promised 'exit sign' Luke spoke of, and a staircase leading down. Down to the right was a couple of stairs leading down to a pair of locked metal doors.

/Bingo./

Of course, It didn't really matter if he couldn't even walk over there. He was afraid to look down at his leg, especially after the glass had begun to melt into the wound. The adrenaline must have actually blocked the pain, because any normal person would be unconscious at this point. Asch slowly lowered his eyes down to his leg, but the wound wasn't visible through all the dried blood and iridescent shimmer of the untempered glass.

The fragment was still lodged in his calf, although it's size had been reduced due to it melting. The fire seemed to all but close the wound, but it was hard to tell beneath all the blackened blood. There was still a little fresh blood dripping down to his foot, leaving little trails of red across his skin.

At this point he only had two choices: pull the glass out, or leave it in.

If he took the glass out, the wound would open anew and he would surely bleed to death. He was already feeling the fatigue from the blood he had already lost. But leaving it in would only give the glass more leeway to tear into his skin and he knew he couldn't walk because putting pressure on it would be worse. Could he tear the glass out and close up the wound? There was nothing to close it with, unless he wanted to subject himself to fire once again.

/Maybe I don't have to go that drastic. I know a little about the seventh fonon, maybe enough to close a wound./

It was worth a shot and was much more pleasing than burning the wound shut. Asch cringed at the thought again, but he had no more time to act like a child. He pulled himself behind the cart full of machines they had taken out of his room. He was now hidden from the common passerby, but if anyone really wanted to find him, they easily could.

/Was that man going to come looking for me? Or was he arrogant enough to believe I burned up along with the rest of the room? Wait a second, why is all this equipment right outside? It's almost as if they were just going to move me somewhere else. What's going on?/

Asch was willing to bet the guy was off bragging to Van and boasting of his skills. Either that, or he was incapacitated from using such a high-powered spell. He really couldn't worry about anything than the task at hand; he was never going to make it out of here if he couldn't even get up.

He stretched his leg and put one hand on the glass still stuck in his leg and readied his other. Asch grabbed a rag off the cart and bit down on it.

/What if I can't heal myself? What if I've lost the power of the seventh fonon completely?/

He tugged on the glass and dislodged it a bit, but he cried out in pain. His teeth sunk into the rag, and he accidentally bit into his lip, leaving a new trail of blood to his already dirty face. If he didn't want to pass out, he would have to do it in one quick tug.

/Like pulling off a band-aid. Right, because a impaled piece of glass is so much like a band-aid./

Asch closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing. With one sharp jerk, he ripped the glass out of his skin and tossed it aside. The glass clattered on the floor and was unrecognizable due to all the blood and warped melting. He definitely felt sorry for the janitor who had to clean up his mess.

The absence of the glass only provided a moment of relief, however, and Asch was suddenly hit with the wall of pain he'd carefully avoided. He let out a pained hiss through the towel as blackness suddenly crowded the corners of his eyes leaving the rest of his vision filled with red. Blood was pouring out of the wound in thick clots and rivers of red and black. His head felt heavy, and he was losing control; succumbing to the darkness seemed like his only escape.

/No, no, no. Snap out of it! I won't die on this disgusting floor, and I will definitely not give up after coming so damn close to escaping. I may be a replica, but that doesn't mean I have to act like a self-pitying idiot also./

He pulled himself back into reality and saw that a lot of blood had already poured out and was puddling on the floor. The rag was still clenched between his teeth and he pushed the pain to the back of his mind. Focusing his hands on the wound, Asch closed his eyes.

However, nothing happened.

Asch cursed loudly and it echoed through the hall more than his screams had. The last thing he wanted to do was burn the wound shut. He was shaking at the thought of fire, even a little flame coming anywhere near him made him cringe. Or maybe he was just trembling from the lack of blood. He had to make this work.

The only way he could save himself was to remember how to use the seventh fonon; he had to remember what it felt like to heal someone, not hurt them. The seventh fonon was not about manipulating the air or water around you, but the memories and fears and feelings surrounding you. The seventh fonon was unlike any other: it wasn't used, it was felt.

/Something most fonists, including Jade, can't understand. It's why the seventh fonon frustrated me also; maybe I've never truly understood it until now. I'm not trying to save just myself this time. I have someone to protect. A certain, helpless idiot./

A sedative feeling slowly overcame him and he watched as a glowing, green-hued light flowed from his hands and towards the wound. The waves of light nursed the wound shut and he could feel them begin to work on the internal damage beneath the careful stitching of light. He abruptly pulled his hands back, realizing if he healed it completely he would end up unconscious.

/I can't go overboard on this; I'm already close to passing out./

The light immediately faded, leaving him freezing and still somewhat mutilated. The water that had soaked him created a horrible mix of blood, soot, and sweat coating his skin, and the deep maroon and black hues painted his skin and caked up his hair.

/I'm eventually going to have to stop putting things off. Especially getting all this gunk out of my hair./

Carefully, Asch used the cart to pull himself up. His leg was incredibly weak, but he could stand. After a few moments of rifling through the cart, he finally found something to defend himself. The steel pipe he had pulled off one of the other contraptions was flimsy, but it was certainly better than walking these halls empty-handed. He also grabbed a thick wire with a barbed end, meant to fit into another machine presumably.

/This hall must not be used for much, since there's absolutely no one around./

Asch began to rush for the other end of the hall but promptly tripped, losing his balance and dignity at the same time. He'd have to slow it down to a brisk limp. When he was finally at the stairs, Asch realized he still had no idea how he was going to get the doors open, but that problem seemed to answer itself, however.

A puzzled Oracle Knight sauntered out of the double doors, banging the palm of his hand on the walkie-talkie and then holding it up to his ear. The machine let out short buzzing noises and segments of someone yelling but was cut off when he stopped hitting it. Asch slid against the wall and silenced his breathing, hoping to go unnoticed. The knight began to walk up the stairs, then turned around when he noticed he hadn't locked the door.

/There's no way I'm going to get in there without keys./

As the knight slowly fumbled to find the right key, Asch took his pipe and nailed the guard in the back of the head. The man cried out and tried to draw his weapon, but Asch quickly uncoiled the wire and wrapped it around the guard's neck. Eventually, the knight stopped struggling at the wire around his neck and fell limp. He collapsed to the floor in a crumpled mess, and Asch stepped daintily over the lifeless body.

Asch picked the keys up off the floor and fitted the ring on his wrist, just incase the exit was locked. He looked at the cracked door suspiciously and wondered if there really was only one guard.

/I'll have to take them down either way, might as well get on with it./

He pushed the guards body away with his good foot and then swung the door open, pipe ready and keys jingling around his wrist.

"Asch?!" Luke called out to him weakly from his collapsed position. He immediately pulled back from the door opening, as if the light was blinding him.

/I wonder how long it's been since he's seen light.../

Asch ran over to him and noticed that he was handcuffed to a support beam that was holding up what he assumed to be the floors above them. He actually had no idea how big this building was.

Luke was stuttering at Asch, asking what happened to him and what was going on. Asch ignored his irritating questions and gave the handcuffs a tug to see what he was working with. Surprisingly, they were already pretty loose around Luke's wrists. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Luke's wrists had actually been rubbed raw, probably from struggling with the handcuffs.

"Pull your hands as far apart as you can, would you?" Asch said, trying to overlook all of Luke's never-ending questions.

Luke quieted down and did as he was told, separating his hands and pulling the chain between the two cuffs till it was straight.

/Wow, he finally shut up. Maybe he realizes how deep of shit we're actually in./

Out of nowhere Asch swung down his pipe against the weak chain, and with a defiant crack it began to deteriorate. Luke yelped and flinched backwards, but Asch ignored him and gave another forceful swing. This time the metal gave way, separating into two brittle pieces.

Asch helped him stand up, although he probably needed more help. They slowly climbed out of the chamber and headed up the stairs. When Luke tried to question about the lifeless guard sprawled out on the stairs, Asch just grumbled and stepped carefully around his head.

/For someone who's been starving in a basement, he sure does ask a lot of questions./

About halfway down the hall, Asch stopped dead in his tracks and slumped into Luke.

/I'm a lot weaker than I thought. Why is the room spinning all of a sudden?/

"Hey, hey! Asch, are you okay? Answer me!" Luke was yelling and vigorously shaking him, but Asch's eyes didn't open.


	5. Damsel in Distress

Asch had completely collapsed into Luke and was lifeless, almost as if someone had consumed his will to keep standing. Luke buckled under the weight of Asch's comatose body, although he soon readjusted and prevented Asch from falling to the ground. Carefully, he propped Asch on the floor in a sitting position. The second Luke took his hands off him however, Asch fell over and smacked his head into the tile.

/Oops. Maybe it's a good thing he's asleep.../

Luke checked to see if he was breathing, and fortunately, he was. It was weak and shallow, but as long as he was breathing everything was going to be okay.

/He looks like a train wreck. I wonder what happened to him, although I know he'll never tell me. How could I have acted so weak when Asch is being put through the same hell as me?/

He looked back down at Asch. He was covered in black soot and there was blood all over him, not to mention that he wasn't in uniform either. At some point during his stay here they had put him in an oversized hospital gown.

/I can't just wait around here. By the shape he's in, they obviously didn't mean to let him live. If Asch was the one awake he would definitely find a way out of here, of course, he'd probably leave me behind too, but that's beside the point./

Carefully, Luke picked Asch up off the floor and pulled up him on his back. Then he wrapped both of Asch's arms around his neck and pulled his legs up under his forearms for more leverage.

Luke overestimated his strength, however, and his legs shook under the new weight. His wounds had miraculously mended themselves for the most part, but they weren't the problem. It was the lack of food and fatigue that was corrupting his health.

/They must have decided to heal me while I was unconscious. Does that mean they chose me over him? Why?/

Luke shook his head as if to clear out all the thoughts; he had much more important things to focus on. He used his shoulder to nudge the door open and, almost as if on cue, the entire hall began to flash red and a deafening beeping noise echoed throughout the hall.

/W-what? An alarm? You've got to be kidding me!/

Luke threw himself the rest of the way outside, only to find a much more concerning situation. The Roneal Mountains towered over the facility and left a cold shadow across the building. The snow twisted and twirled around his face, filling the air with frosty breath. It was much more than just cold; the air that went down his throat seemed as if it was freezing his insides. His bones clicked and clattered along with the beat of his teeth's chattering in an icy symphony.

It was late in the day already; the sun had already begun to prepare for its decent into night. The people of Keterburg had many legends about the mountains that shadowed their little town, but none so familiar as the woman who froze to death waiting for her lover. These mountains were famous for their unforgiving attitude towards weary travelers.

Not to mention the fire escape they had escaped through was at least ten floors up. There were little ladders that were connected to each individual floor's exit, but they looked rusty and unused.

/Wait a second, I could have sworn we were in the basement of this building. What the hell is going on?/

The grating beneath him was rattling in the strong wind, in fact, no one had probably been out here in years. The entire space he was standing on was only a couple of feet wide and thin metal bars lined the sides.

/I don't like this one bit. How do I know the metal isn't gonna break out from under me? Ugh, but there is no other option, is there? I better start moving if I don't want to get caught./

Slowly, he lowered himself onto the freezing ladder, keeping one hand propping up Asch and the other on the freezing steel. After he descended down a couple of rungs, a gust of air swelled around the ladder and jerked it left to right.

/I was not cut out for this. I definitely did not sign up for this. I am going to die, suspended five hundred feet above some godforsaken mountains!/

"Get a grip, you idiot. It's 100 feet at most," Asch grumbled from behind him.

Luke spun around in surprise, only to crash his forehead into Asch's.

"Asch! How did you, I mean when-" Luke began to stutter out something but abruptly ended it with a simple, "I'm sorry for hitting you on the head. Twice."

"Twice? Whatever," he replied and rubbed his forehead with a free hand.

/Is he really not going to explain himself?/

After a long period of silence he softly mumbled, "I just got a little light-headed is all, okay? Stop at the next floor's balcony so I don't have to depend on someone who can't even climb down a ladder."

Luke realized he probably hadn't moved in about ten minutes. Swiftly, he began to scale down the remaining rungs of the ladder. Once on the next balcony, he gently put Asch down on his feet and braced himself against the roaring wind.

/He can barely hold himself up; how does he expect to get down the rest of the way? He should really just let me help him./

Luke was biting his lip and trying to decide if he should point that out or just let Asch do it himself. If he passed out again, there'd be no way for Luke to catch him.

The strong winds died down and Luke looked back over at Asch. He was glaring at him with evil eyes, as if he had heard everything Luke was thinking. Wait a second...

"How'd you know I was so afraid, and about the 500 feet thing?" Luke innocently questioned.

Asch gave an obvious eye-roll and said, "Isn't it damn obvious? You're the original now. If you don't want me to hear your thoughts, you have to turn it off yourself."

He hadn't really given much thought; technically he was the original at this point, wasn't he? It makes sense that Asch was so mad. He had literally been demoted to less than Luke, and it was probably eating him alive.

"You still haven't turned it off, and I suggest you keep your naïve thoughts to yourself. I don't need," he paused," someone like _you_ worrying about someone like _me_."

Luke shivered, and not from the wind this time. This probably wasn't the time to ask how to turn it off, either.

"We've wasted too much time. Come on, aren't you the one who suggested to go first?" He motioned over to the ladder.

/He's really just nervous about going down first, isn't he? I better hurry up before he changes his mind and goes on ahead./

Luke began to inch down the ladder and Asch slowly followed in suit, although his shaky footsteps were shifting the ladder more than the wind was. It was a painstakingly slow process of climbing in between bursts of wind and flurries of snow, but if they went any faster they risked falling to their death. They covered two more balconies before Luke noticed something peculiar.

/Asch is... barefoot? Not only that, but there is a shard of glass sticking out of the bottom of his foot. How has he been walking on that in the first place?/

"Hey, Asch?"

"What do you want?"

"Uhm, aren't your feet cold?" He said dumbly, as if his feet weren't.

/That probably could have come out better. Even though it doesn't really matter what I say because he's gonna shoot it down anyway./

Asch didn't reply and kept climbing, so Luke didn't press the matter further. But he was definitely not going to walk in the snow on bare feet.

"We'll see about that," Asch hollered down to Luke over the wind.

/The wind sure is louder than before. The closer we get to the ground, though, the safer I feel./

* * *

/I don't think I realized before how many stupid thoughts go through Luke's head. It's even worse than hearing him talk./

Asch didn't want to listen; it was almost as if he was forced to. All the perks of being a spin-off, he assumed.

His feet were cold, in fact, but that wasn't what worried him. As long as he could feel the cold, that meant he didn't have frostbite. The real problems would start when he actually felt warm.

/I can't pull that glass out, either, because an open wound is the last thing I need. Besides, it's not that painful. When I put the weight on my other foot, I can't even feel it./

However, they only had two more ladders to scale, and that idiot had a point. The ground was a lot more inviting.

A whirlwind of ice and snow came out of nowhere and caused the ladder to shudder again, except this time a crack followed. Luke had already placed himself safely on the balcony below and was waiting patiently. It turned out that Luke was in better condition than himself, which he hadn't known. When did he get the time to heal himself?

Asch continued down the ladder and as his foot touched the last rung the metal let out another loud crack. It bowed out from its stable position as the top two hinges completely broke apart. Asch felt the shock go throughout his body and knew if he jumped he wouldn't make it back over to the balcony before the ladder completely gave out.

/Well, it's not that long of a fall is it? Twenty, thirty feet. Unless there's something underneath the snow like, I don't know, jagged rocks. No big deal though./

He heard the last two bolts snap on the bottom of the ladder and his eyes shut closed. Luke was yelling something, but the cyclone of snow and wind drowned it out in a howling uproar. There was no way to save himself, no spells to cast or dirty tricks to play. When did he become such a damsel in distress?

/There goes the last of my dignity. Not like it matters at this point if I'm going to die./

A sharp tug at his hair began to fight with gravity and when he opened his eyes, he was looking into nothing. A snowy emptiness, swirling and billowing, filled his vision. It was peaceful, unlike any sight he had seen before. He had always loved Keterburg.

"Asch! Answer me dammit!" Luke was yelling, and had yelled for maybe minutes.

Asch turned around and saw something unfamiliar; Luke was truly angry with him. Usually it was a mix of rage and sadness, or pity and angst, but never so angry all by itself.

/What's his problem? It's not my damn fault in the first place. If he makes me apologize for falling I'll seriously lose it./

"What?" Asch asked dumbly, as if he had no clue in the world what was going on.

"Don't give me that! Asch you almost died, and this isn't even the first time this has happened today! You're going to have to start depending on people," He paused, "you're going to have to start depending on me if you want to survive."

/Is this what it's about?Damn it, e's acting like a child but still pretending like he's superior to me. Isn't he the one who stressed about us being separate people, not replica and original, but 2 separate individuals? I don't need to be dependent on anyone. I am my own person; I always have been, and I always will be./

Asch didn't respond, he just pulled himself up from the floor of the balcony and brushed the newly fallen snow from him. Luke was still demanding an answer, standing defiantly with his hands on his hips.

/He better move before I seriously push him off this balcony myself. The second we get to Keterburg, I'm getting on the first ferry that takes me the farthest away from him./

"How many near death experiences do you need to have before you realize that you need people? Why do you think you died alone in the first place?"

Neither of them had really brought up Asch's death; it was something he felt wasn't needed to be talked about. Luke knew he had said something wrong too, because his anger had completely left his eyes and in its absence an overwhelming wave of pity replaced it.

/How could he... Why would he say... No, he has no idea what he's talking about. I didn't choose to die! It's not like I had long left anyway! He has no idea what the hell I was going through. It wasn't because I was alone, it was because I was stabbed. Nothing else; plain and simple. It's not like I died because I wanted to!/

But he knew it was true. No matter how black and white his reasoning was, he couldn't live in denial. He pushed away everyone in the end, lastly Luke, and lost himself completely.

Asch brushed past Luke, who made no move to stop him, and began to slowly climb down the ladder again.

* * *

"No, wait, Asch, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry!"

It didn't matter what he said because Asch was out of earshot. Luke began to retreat down the ladder also; his anger had completely dissolved into pure regret.

/He didn't even yell at me. I don't think I've ever seen him like that. He just looked so, so... broken./

What was worse was that Luke kept getting snippets of memories from Asch. It's as if his anger prevented him for blockading Luke from his head. Hazy images of fire and pain kept nagging at the back of Luke's head, but he couldn't put his finger on what it meant. There were apparently some things Asch couldn't hide, and skeleton's that should forever hide in his closet suddenly came out into the open.

/Even Asch has his fears./

They continued to climb without a word, but Luke could tell Asch was getting more faint by the minute. The weaker he got, the more memories began to seep through the cracks, creating a wall of pain and sorrow. Not only that, but he kept losing his balance and missing rungs, giving Luke a heart attack each time. He really couldn't tell if Asch was to ignoring it, or just didn't notice at this point.

/He's going to freeze out here. I'm going to, too, aren't I?/

The haunting silence of the wind all the sudden did not bode well. It was as if the air had quieted down to hear their conversation, or lack of it. The snow fell in an even pattern straight down, clouding up Luke's hair and eyelashes. There was only one more ladder to descend, and Asch was almost near the last rung. Luke sped up his climb and, assuming Asch had already jumped down the snow, continued climbing without looking.

Of course, after he kicked Asch in the head, he looked down with a perplexed glance. Asch didn't make eye contact, but he mumbled something in an angry tone.

/What's he waiting on?/

"What?" Luke said, hoping he wasn't about to get yelled at. He really didn't mean to say that earlier.

"Well I thought," Asch stopped there and continued to look down, almost out of embarrassment than anger.

/Asch never falters with his words; he must be planning to let me have it. I'm such an idiot./

Asch opened his mouth to speak again, but shortly closed it.

/What is he getting at?/

"Well, I'm going to get frostbite, If I, you know," He gulped, "walk in the snow."

/He's trying to trust me. And I was too stupid to realize it because I was too caught up in my own worries./

"Never mind, I didn't mean-" Asch began to climb down again but Luke grabbed him by the arm.

"No, you're right," Luke answered with the best smile he could muster. It was more of a nervous slant of his mouth than anything else, but a smile nonetheless.

Asch replied with a raised eyebrow and stopped climbing. They were only about 5 feet away from the ground, so Luke decided to jump down first so he could help Asch down next. Of course, before he could, his shoe got caught in the ladder and he lost his footing. He accidentally yanked them both down from the ladder and they tumbled into a heap of fresh snow.

Luke looked over at Asch, whose face was covered in snow, and couldn't help but laugh. Asch wiped the snow off his face and underneath it wasn't the same hard, rocky exterior. Something in him had changed, and it was the first time he'd heard Asch laugh. His laughter chimed out like little bells reflecting off the snow and crystallizing in the air. Asch didn't sound calloused or sarcastic, he was just happy to be alive.

Luke was too.

* * *

It was strange; maybe he was delirious. It was one of those rare times he'd smiled and had no hidden motive.

/He's right, as horrible as it is to admit. Dying the same way twice is something I refuse to accept. I'll play along with Luke's game; It sure seems to make him happy./

Luke read too much into things, and it was almost torture to have to listen to it. It was a constant buzzing noise in the back of his head, and what was worse was that Asch feared he might be doing the same thing in Luke's head. His control over his thoughts had deteriorated from where it'd used to be.

"We need to get going, Luke, in fact, I'm surprised we haven't been caught yet." Asch said, smoothly changing the topic.

He watched Luke pull himself up out of the snow and then offer a hand to him. Asch warily looked at it, then neatly pulled himself up without help.

/There's definitely a limit to how much I'm willing to put up with./

Asch looked over at Luke, who had a questioning look on his face. Luke was talking, or at least Asch assumed by the fact his mouth was moving, but he couldn't hear anything. He looked to the left and right; there was absolutely no one around. A high-pitched screeching noise rung out in Asch's ears, and he cringed and fell to his knees.

Luke had his hand on his shoulder, but he couldn't feel his touch. His head was throbbing, and he began to tremble and shake as light-headed sensation overcame him He fell back into the blanket of snow and everything was white and silent, a dreamy scenery created by the white landscape. Luke had him by the shoulders and was shaking him, but Asch just smiled up at the sky.

And then everything went black.

* * *

"Asch! Asch?" Luke was still shaking him, even though he was obviously unconscious.

There was no answer, and there hadn't been to any of his earlier questions. Luke was more worried about how pale Asch was though. His skin was colder than the snow itself, and little ice crystals had formed in his hair and eyelashes.

/He must have hit his head on something when he fell. I've got to get away from here, or at least find some shelter./

Luke pulled Asch out of the snow and supported his head with one arm and his legs with another. He really wasn't that heavy anymore, and that almost made Luke more worried. Asch was unnaturally skinny and his bones peeked out from under his skin. He face was gaunt and he had dark circles beneath his eyes, not to mention the smoke and blood that seemed to be stained into his skin.

They both could really use a shower.

No one seemed to be chasing after them, which was a good thing compared to the progress they were making. It was hard to push through the drifts of snow, and it was only getting darker.

/I can't do this alone. How am I gonna prevent us both from freezing?/

Asch's flaw was his independence, and Luke's was his dependence on others. In the end, neither of them were right.

Luke continued to push through the snow, even though he couldn't tell which direction he was going anymore. The blizzard had picked up, overwhelming Luke in a flurry of ice and wind. The sun had also set, and there was no escape from the cold now. It was even harder to keep his footing in the dark, and Luke often found himself tripping over hidden things beneath the snow. The wind now ripped at his skin, burning it with merciless agony. He couldn't feel his feet or his hands except when sharp stabs of cold assaulted him and Asch was in no better condition, and his lips were turning blue.

He had stirred once or twice, moaning and mumbling about something incoherently, but hadn't come back to consciousness.

/I need you now more than ever Asch. Please, please, just wake up./

It was pitch black except for the sudden appearance of the moon, which reflected off the snow and illuminated the white prison they were trapped in. Luke tripped over what seemed to be a rock once more, except this time he lost his balance and sunk into the snow. The snow no longer chilled him, however; nothing felt cold anymore. It was as if he had absorbed all bitter air inside of him, leaving everything warm but himself.

Luke's legs had locked up and he couldn't find his way back to a standing position. He looked down at Asch, who was still in his arms, and he looked even worse than before. His body almost blended into the darkness, except for his face which mirrored the pale glow of the moon.

"Asch!"

There was no response.

/Maybe he needs something to wake him up. Although if arctic temperatures aren't enough, what would be?/

He grabbed Asch by the shoulders and shook him slowly at first, then forcibly. Asch could get mad at him later. He had lost feeling in his arms, and had to look to make sure he was actually holding on to something.

Asch didn't respond, although his face look distressed enough. Luke stopped shaking him slowly and felt tears of desperation begin to fill the corners of his eyes. He brought his arms around Asch and hugged him tight while he let out weak sobs.

"I'm sorry, Asch. This is all my fault." Luke whispered into his hair, as if Asch could hear him.

There was a long pause of silence, even the wind stopped roaring. The space was peaceful and serene, and if it wasn't so cold the snow would be breathtaking. Freezing to death was an odd way to go; it's almost as if the cold calms you down to a hazy sleep and you just never bother to wake up. And Luke was tired.

"It's not your fault," A voice spoke out hoarsely.

/Am I hearing things?/

Luke lifted his head out of the crook of Asch's neck and met his gaze. His eyes were steeled and determined, no matter how pale he looked.

"A little late to the party, aren't you?" Luke joked weakly.

Asch didn't respond he just closed his eyes and sighed. "Have you seen any shelter? Even if it's just a snow drift to hide behind, it's better than nothing."

/I guess we're skipping introductions./

It didn't really matter though, as long as Asch hadn't given up, he wouldn't either.

Luke answered with a description of how the mountain range should be a couple hundred feet to the left, but that was all he'd seen.

"There's probably a cave somewhere in that area; we should head in that direction." Asch said, ignoring the obvious problem.

"But Asch, neither of us are strong enough to walk," Luke responded dejectedly.

"Luke," Asch paused, "can I trust you?"

Luke was definitely taken aback.

/What did this have to do with anything? Why would he even ask me that anyway?/

"Of course, Asch. What do you need me to do?"

"I'm going to need you to promise me you'll live through this. And if the time comes," he paused again as if he couldn't force the words out of his mouth," to leave me behind."

"Asch, please don't ask me to do that. I don't think I can handle the idea right now."

Asch gave an angry look in his direction but put the matter aside. He continued, "Fine. The point is, I'm going to focus on heating our bodies while you focus on walking."

"What do you mean? Are you gonna set me on fire?" For some reason, that pissed Asch off.

/Is fire a touchy subject?/

"Of course not you idiot!" He bit back the anger and continued, "No, I'm not going to burn you. All I have to do is focus a spell to the amount of heat I need it. This isn't something that is easy to do, of course, and I definitely won't be walking anytime soon. But it's really the only option at this point."

/There's no way he has enough strength to do that, no matter how determined he is./

"I'm going to do it because I have to. It's as simple as that. There's a point though, that I might begin to fall unconscious, and you need to make sure I stay up as long as possible no matter what. Got it?" Asch said.

/Theres no way he's gonna be able to pull this off./

"It's better than nothing, Luke," he growled.

/I really have to figure out how to turn this off./

"Alright," Luck said.

"Let's go, then, shall we?"


	6. Night in the Snow

Luke felt as if he had never been cold in the first place; the bitter freeze had dissolved from his body and was replaced with a soft glow of heat. All the feeling had returned to his hands and feet and even his cheeks felt warm. The blizzard even died down, and little flakes of snow dotted the landscape. Whatever Asch was doing was definitely working, but he didn't seem nearly as cheerful as Luke was.

/It sure is awkward carrying him like this. I'm sure he's not too happy about it either, though./

Asch was trembling and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, he was definitely cold. Asch's skin was freezing to the touch and his lips were tainted blue.

"Asch?"

"W-what do you want?" he muttered through clattering teeth.

"You," Luke stuttered, as unsure how to word his thoughts, "are you keeping yourself warm, too?"

Asch didn't answer for a couple of moments which meant he was either fighting back anger or planning to not even answer at all.

/How come he can hear my thoughts and I can't hear his?/

"Leave me alone," he muttered under his breath.

Luke stopped walking and stood silently for a moment. "Asch, we're in this together. If you aren't going to keep yourself warm then I don't want to be warm either."

Luke knew he was lying to himself, and that he desperately wanted to avoid ever being cold again, but he forced away his vulnerability.

"Don't you get it you idiot? I don't have enough energy to keep us both warm and cozy. I'm keeping my body temperature high enough to prevent frostbite, but I don't have the luxury of getting rid of the discomfort. Covering distance is much more important than how comfortable I am, anyway. And since you're the only one who can walk, you take priority over me. End of story."

/I know he's right, but I don't like it. Asch shouldn't try to and pretend like he's fine!/

He knew Asch heard him thinking by his soured face, but he didn't say a word. Luke sighed and continued to walk in no clear direction through the snowy and craggy ground.

"Luke," Asch called out.

"Now wait, I didn't mean anything bad-" Luke began to explain himself, but Asch cut him off.

"Luke shut up. I don't really care about it anyway."

/So he did hear me. Then why'd he choose to ignore me?/

"Would you just focus for five seconds? I'm trying to tell you-" Asch was definitely angry at this point.

"What's wrong?" Luke questioned innocently, without realizing he had cut him off again.

A sharp stab of heat spiked in his back and ran down his spine. It felt as if he was on fire, and Luke yelped out in pain.

"What's your problem?" Luke exclaimed as the pain died down as suddenly as it had appeared.

"I just lost control," Asch muttered, "sorry."

/Did he just say sorry to me?/

Asch cleared his throat as to address Luke's thoughts before he could say them and continued, "Anyway, there's a cave over there."

Luke looked to his right and saw a small indent in the foothills of the mountains. He picked up his pace and made his way over to the cave in a matter of minutes.

/How did he see this from so far away? I would've spent the entire night trying to find something half as big as this!/

The cave's entrance was shaded by a large pine tree, but half of the opening was still visible. The second Luke stepped inside and was released from the claws of the wind, a wave of relief came over him. He set Asch carefully on one side of the cave and noticed that he, too, seemed more relaxed.

"Alright, if we can just get a fire going, we have a chance of making it out of this alive." Asch called out to Luke, who was already inspecting deeper within the cave.

/It seems like the cave's empty, which is a huge relief. I don't think I could handle any monsters./

Luke walked back over to Asch and saw that he was still pretending to not be cold. He would shake and shiver for a couple of seconds, then straighten out his back to prevent himself from looking weak and hunched over. It was pretty pitiful.

He gave out a heavy sigh and said,"Okay, well, where am i supposed to even get wood, Asch?"

/Why's he looking at me like that? It's an honest question./

Asch didn't answer, he just pulled himself off the floor and stumbled over to the edge of the cave. Luke immediately rushed over to support him with his arm, receiving a menacing glare from Asch.

"Don't give me that look," Luke said, and Asch knew he was right.

"You see that tree over there?" Asch said, before he broke into a coughing fit. He awkwardly pulled his hand away from his mouth after coughing, as if to wipe his mouth.

"Can you cut it down?" Asch slowly asked again, pretending to ignore Luke's comment.

"What do you expect me to cut it down with?" Luke was getting a little exasperated at this point.

Asch rolled his eyes and said, "Nevermind, can you just take me over there?"'

/What's he gonna do, use a tree-cutting arte?/

Luke helped walk him back into the blizzard and realized how cold it actually was. Asch had given up on keeping him warm, probably after all his snide comments, and the chill was already seeping into his skin.

"Make sure I don't fall." Asch said slowly, and held his hands out. His arms were trembling and his breathing sounded pained and heavy.

/I think there's a lot more going on than just being cold. I wonder what's-/

Luke's thoughts were cut short by the wind that began to swirl around Asch. Light flowed out of the ground in a neat circle and Asch's hair was blown back by the force of the wind in waves of red. The air soon condensed into currents and sliced the pine tree into narrow pieces of wood.

"Woah, Asch! I didn't know you could do that!" Luke was completely fascinated by the arte and walked over to where the tree had once stood to look at the damage. His eyes glowed as he watched the currents of air slowly dissipate back into the blizzard.

"You have to teach me how to do that!" Luke said turning around to look back at Asch.

Asch was no longer standing upright and had fallen over into the snow; yet again, he had overextended himself. Luke ran over to him and leaned over his face to see if he was still conscious.

"I thought I told you not to," Asch coughed again and then continued, "let me fall."

* * *

Asch felt too weak to even be mad at this point. His back ached from falling, but he suppressed the pain until Luke helped him out of the blizzard.

"Bring all the wood in here, okay? Make sure to grab some small branches and any other short grasses that will help get the fire going!" Asch hollered out to him as he was walking away.

It was still the middle of the night, but the moon and stars were so bright that there was plenty of light to go around. Asch let out another deep cough and when he pulled his hand away there was more blood than before. Luke hadn't noticed the first time, or at least he assumed he didn't by his rude comments. It was fine though; the less Luke worried, the better.

/If I'm coughing up blood that means there's internal bleeding. But I don't think any of the glass punctured my internal organs, so what the hell is going on? My throat must just be scratched up from the smoke, that's it.../

Luke came running back with wood under one arm and branches under the other.

"Is this enough, Asch?" Luke questioned.

"Yeah, but go get more just in case." Asch replied without even looking up. He still focused on the blood on his hand.

As Luke walked away, Asch began to feel around his body to see if there was any glass he'd missed. Besides the glass still lodged in his foot, there were three more large pieces in his lower back and a couple dotting his hands and arms, but nothing too serious. Asch felt around his ribcage and let out a pained gasp; he had definitely broken a rib. Or a few.

/That's not a good sign./

"Okay, go ahead and work your magic. I promise to catch you this time," Luke said while giving him a devilish grin.

/Once I'm in good health, I'm going to literally punch the shit out of him./

Asch put his feelings aside and focused on building up the fire. Luke had created a little pile of sticks and weeds beneath two sturdy logs. With a quick snapping motion with his right hand, bright sparks flew out from his palm and began to smoke and sizzle at the small twigs. The sparks quickly caught on the brush and became a small, but sturdy, flame. Asch then leaned over the fire while making sure to keep his hair back and blew on it until it was strong enough to burn alone.

Luke sat there fascinated the entire time, his eyes glowing in the sight of the growing flames.

/What's his problem? Has he never seen a fire before?/

Asch didn't have time to get angry with him, however, because the after effects of using the arte hit him again. All he created was a tiny spark, and yet he fell to the floor in a dizzy haze. Before his head hit the hard stone floor, however, Luke managed to catch him.

/I think this is the only time he's been useful./

"That's a first," Asch responded sharply although he kept his eyes closed so the dizziness would subside.

This entire day had been a series of firsts for Asch.

"Ah, sorry." Luke said.

Asch finally regained his strength and pulled himself away from Luke. Luke began to argue with him, but he ignored it and pulled himself closer to the fire. If Luke smarted off at him one more time, he was gonna seriously lose it, so he picked up a stick and instead poked at the fire, hoping that he could drown out Luke's chatter.

/I wonder if they're looking for us? Maybe they're just trying to wait until the blizzard dies down. They surely know we're gone by now, right?/

The janitor had to at least know by the amount of blood Asch accidentally smeared all over the hallway.

/They could just be right outside, waiting for us to let our guard down. Yeah, there's no way we're going to sleep at the same time. Actually, Luke can sleep; I don't trust him to stay up and keep watch./

When Asch picked his head up and looked over at Luke, he was still talking. He looked angry too, probably because Asch was ignoring him, but Asch couldn't care less at this point.

"I'll keep watch first, then I'll wake you up later when I want to sleep, okay?" Asch said, even though he had no intention of waking Luke back up.

Luke seemed startled by the idea; he obviously hadn't given much thought about who would be sleeping when.

"Alright, but you promise you're going to wake me up?" Luke said as he eyed him warily.

/Maybe he's not at stupid as he looks./

"Yeah, yeah. Just go to sleep already so I don't have to hear you talk." Asch mumbled while he continued to poke at the fire.

Luke stood up and gave himself one nice, long stretch before sitting down next to Asch, who was leaning against the wall near the opening of the cave.

/I hope we didn't build the fire too close to the cave opening./

Asch was uncomfortable, to say the least. He didn't like that Luke was sitting by him, but decided not to make anything of it. The faster Luke fell asleep, the faster his headache would go away.

Luke seemed surprised that Asch hadn't said anything either, but stayed quiet. He shut his eyes and put his head against the back of the wall.

Asch stared off into the fire, watching the shadows dance against the wall in a warm blaze. The heat was definitely welcomed since Asch was still freezing and hadn't stopped trembling even though they were in the safety of the cave. He knew Luke could tell, too, because he was practically shaking him, but he didn't open his eyes to complain.

/I wonder if he's already asleep? No, it hasn't been long enough./

Almost as if on cue, Luke asked, "Hey, Asch?"

/So he is awake./

"What do you want, Luke?" Asch said through an exasperated sigh.

Luke looked a bit as if he had just swallowed a bug, but continued, "What happened to you? You know, back at that place?"

/Had he really been thinking about that this whole time? I really don't think it's any of his business./

"It doesn't really matter, does it? Just go to sleep." Asch said callously.

"It matters to me. Ah, but if you don't want to talk about it now that's okay. Just promise me you'll tell me someday, okay?" Luke said through a yawn.

"Fine, whatever, just go to sleep already." Asch muttered.

"Not unless you pinky promise me you're gonna do it!" Luke protested and folded his arms.

/He's like an obnoxious child at bedtime./

"Luke, are you kidding me? Quit acting like a child." Asch said, anger building in his voice.

Luke didn't answer, but reached over Asch to snatch his hand and force him to do it. Asch tried to push him away with his other hand, but he was nowhere near as strong as Luke at this point. He eventually lost the battle and Luke jerked his hand over.

"Let go, Luke!" Asch hissed out in pain.

Luke looked down and finally realized what he was doing. There was blood coating both of their hands and dripping down Asch's arm. He immediately released Asch's hand and tried to wipe the blood off his own hand.

"There was still some glass in this hand, and I was waiting to pull it out. But there's no point now." Asch muttered and began ripping out the bloody shards in his hand.

Some of the pieces were a lot larger than the others, and when he pulled them out the wounds began bleeding heavily. He took his free hand and traced the three major wounds with stitches of seventh fonon, leaving dark scars.

/These are from crawling on the ground in that room since there all up and down my arms and hands, aren't they?/

Luke had watched horrified the entire time and cringed at each shard he took out. Knowing him, he hadn't even noticed all the odds and ends of glass still left in Asch's skin.

"You didn't know, Luke. It's fine. Just go to sleep already." Asch muttered.

Luke slowly nodded, as if he was unable to speak, and maneuvered closer to Asch so their shoulders were touching.

"Idiot." Asch murmured beneath a sigh.

/Idiot./

* * *

Asch closed his eyes for what seemed like only a moment, but when he opened them the moon was beginning to disappear and the sky was preparing for a busy morning. The sun still hadn't come up, which meant he hadn't been asleep for long.

/So much for keeping watch./

Luke had carelessly fallen asleep on Asch's shoulder. In fact, he had completely leaned on Asch, using him almost as a pillow. For how comfortable he made himself, he didn't look happy. His face was tensed up, and he seemed to be twitching his left hand.

/Probably just a nightmare./

Meanwhile, a gnawing pain in his foot begged for attention. He'd forgotten about the glass still embedded in the bottom of his foot, which was the most probable source of the pain. Either that, or his foot was broken.

He didn't want to wake up Luke and hear him nagging about Asch's physical condition, so he carefully slid himself away from the other and propped his head on the wall. Luke didn't stir, so he assumed it worked.

Asch pulled himself up to the fire and saw that it was dimming. He tried to quietly carefully place a new log on the fire, however when he let go of the wood it crashed and sent out a flurry of sparks. Luke seemed to lazily notice the noise but his only response was to change his sleeping position.

/Whew./

Asch sat by the fire for a few moments and warmed himself up. Even though the wind and snow had died down, it was still frigid outside.

He then proceeded to poke the bruising around his ankle and realized it was definitely broken. Every time he touched his ankle it sent shudders down his spine. Slowly, he brought his foot around so he could see the bottom. It was definitely a gory sight; since he had walked on the injured would much, the glass had rooted itself deep within his foot. There wasn't any new blood, but he assumed from experience that it would definitely begin to bleed when he took the shard out. Oh boy.

/No need to waste time./

He made quick work of pulling it out, although he hissed and snarled throughout the process. It was nothing compared to his earlier wound.

The blood immediately began to pour out and he called upon what little strength he had left it seal it up. The seventh fonon seemed to come naturally now and easily escaped from his fingertips to trace the wound. He couldn't heal the wound farther than just preventing blood loss or else he would definitely pass out.

/I might have overshot it, anyway. Why do I have to be so weak?/

He reluctantly pulled back the fonons and felt his body go numb and cold again. Asch had overestimated his strength, however, and the dizziness consumed him. He held his head in his hands to try to fight it off, but it was no use; he was out cold.

* * *

Luke watched as Asch slowly reopened his eyes. Asch confusedly looked around until he realized what had happened, then smacked his hand against his forehead.

Luke had woken up a few moments after Asch had passed out but wasn't fast enough to prevent Asch from banging his head against the floor.

/Asch's spell was so bright that it woke me up. Why couldn't he just wait until I was awake to use such a powerful arte? I doubt he even knows how to control the seventh fonon, that's why he's passing out so much./

"How long was I," Asch mumbled and then tried to pull himself up only to fall back down.

"The sun is barely up, so I'd say it was only an hour or two. You don't need to get up if you don't want to. I can keep watch." Luke said before he finished.

Asch placed his hand over his eyes and sighed loudly.

"Maybe we should just leave now. We should probably get to the town late at night or early in the morning."

/Why does that even matter?/

"It matters because we look like hell, Luke. If we go walking in their peaceful little town covered in blood what do you think is going to happen?" Asch sighed.

He had a point.

"So we'll leave later. When it's brighter outside, I'll take a look around and see if we're close to Keterburg." Luke decided.

"Fine, but-" Asch stopped mid sentence and let out a deep cough.

He pulled his hand back and Luke saw that it was covered in blood. Asch seemed embarrassed as he wiped at the corners of his mouth to clear the blood off his lips.

/No way... How long has that been going on? I even made fun of him for it earlier, didn't I? I'm such an idiot!/

"Don't worry about it," Asch muttered, trying to avoid the problem.

"How can you tell me to 'not worry about it'? Asch, you are falling apart! Of course I'm going to worry about it!" Luke shouted.

Asch kept his eyes closed and then said quietly, "I know, Luke."

"Get some sleep; I'll wake you up later, okay?"

For once, Asch didn't argue with him.

Luke waited for him to fall asleep before he moved him off of his lap. He laid him close to the fire, but made sure that he wasn't too close so that his hair would be singed. He slowly stood up and tried to stretch out his stiff bones; sleeping on the cold, rock floor did not do wonders for his sore back.

He strolled out of the cave and crushed the fresh snow beneath his feet. The white scenery seemed to go on for miles, only ending when coming in contact with the mountain range. He walked out a little farther and squinted into the distance; he could almost distinguish the little buildings apart across the horizon. One building in particular towered over the others which he assumed was the hotel in the center of Keterburg.

The town didn't seem too far off, but trudging through the snow in the middle of the night was definitely something he didn't plan to do again.

He walked back over to the cave and saw that Asch was sitting up in front of the fire.

"I thought you were sleeping? Oh well, I think I can see Keterburg from here. It shouldn't even be that long of a walk!" Luke said excitedly.

Asch jumped, as if he hadn't expected Luke to appear. He didn't reply and just kept picking at the fire with a stray stick.

Luke walked over to him and sat down next to the fire. Asch had a sour look on his face, except he didn't seem angry; he just seemed tired.

"Hey, are you okay?I mean, really okay, not just the whole 'I'm fine, go away, idiot' thing." Luke asked, watching his downcast face stare into the fire.

Before he could answer, his stomach answered for him. It let out a loud gurgle that almost sounded like a dying animal.

Luke began to laugh and said, "When did you last eat, Asch?"

Asch seemed to snap out of his trance and said, "It's been a couple of days, hasn't it? I guess I'll just have to take care of that when we get to Keterburg."

/When did I last eat? I think it was two days ago, wasn't it? This is probably the longest I've ever gone without eating, except when Natalia spent a week trying to cook dinner./

"Should we get going now?" Asch asked as he tried to stand up.

Luke caught him as his legs gave out on him and gave a weak laugh.

"When are you going to give up on trying to stand by yourself?" Luke said.

"Some day soon I'm going to get my strength back, and you're gonna regret making fun of me." Asch said while scowling.

"Right, right, whatever. Well, I'll carry you if you make sure we stay warm. We can wait outside the town until it's dusk and head in, although I bet it will already dark by the time we get there."

* * *

"You really shouldn't walk on that ankle, Asch."

"You really shouldn't keep telling me what to do, Luke." Asch mimicked back.

They had finally reached the outskirts of the town and from there, Asch told Luke he could walk. Of course, Luke still had his arm holding up him up, but at least he was on his own two feet.

/He's right, though. My ankle is definitely broken. Not like I'm gonna give him the satisfaction of knowing that./

They walked in slowly through the back gates and luckily, no one was around. The street lamps illuminated the blanket of fresh snow and simple cobblestone pathways. The town was quite pretty at night, with all the twinkling stars and the peaceful silence. "So what now?" Luke questioned as they stopped by a bench.

Asch sat down, more to rest than to think. Luke followed in suit and took a seat next to him.

"I really didn't think we were gonna make it this far, to be honest." Asch joked with a weak laugh.

It was true, he hadn't really thought of what to do once they had gotten here. They had no money, although Luke may have been able to pull some strings with the Fabre name. Except, his parents didn't even know he was alive, did they?

"Luke, how long were you in that place? Well, I mean, did anyone ever know you were alive after Eldrant fell?" Asch questioned.

Luke's eyes widened, almost as if he hadn't thought about it either. Luke slowly replied, "Well, ah, it's really hazy. While Eldrant was falling, I think I saw Lorelei. Actually, I know I saw him. And then I found you, of course. After that, I don't know what really happened. I do remember waking up in that building, but I'm not really sure how long I was there."

"Two years, Luke." Asch said quietly.

"What about two years?" Luke responded.

/Maybe I should just let him stay ignorant./

"Nevermind. Alright, don't you have some connections in this town?"

Luke seemed hurt that Asch didn't explain what he was talking about, which he made very clear in his thoughts, although he seemed happy that Asch was trying his best to not get pissed off and stop talking.

"Uhm, yeah. We could go by Nephry's house and-" Luke abruptly stopped talking and looked around.

/I thought it was just me. It definitely feels like someones watching us./

"Act normal, keep talking to me." Asch commanded while glancing around the area. The dull street lamps left lots of dark areas where someone could easily hide. Luke gave a panicked glance around, but Asch punched him in the shoulder so he'd stop acting so suspicious.

/More like I just wanted to get a hit on him for dropping me. And making fun of me. And many other things, honestly./

Luke gave out a pained groan and then mumbled on about something awkwardly, while Asch slowly reached for a rock near his foot on the ground. He picked it up and then looked back at Luke, who nodded as if he understood.

"Duck," Asch warned, and then hurled the rock at a tree behind Luke's head. He'd heated it within his palm so that it would burn a hole right through the tree and hopefully singe whoever was hiding behind it. A loud noise came from behind the tree in response, and then someone smoothly stumbled out. The stranger tried to play it off, although he was obviously startled at the fact he was noticed.

"My, my, it seems I've been caught." The man said, then quickly recomposed himself as he walked out from the shadows.

Asch didn't even have to look over to know who it was. Luke's eyes lit up, and he stood up fast to go greet the man.

"Jade, I can't believe it! Wait, what were you doing spying on us? And what are you doing in Keterburg? Are the others here too? Oh, I bet Guy is so mad at me!" Luke was talking at a mile a minute, and Asch just groaned.

/At least I don't have to do the explaining anymore./

"Well, it's not everyday that one gets to see a ghost. Two, actually." Jade replied while shrugging his shoulders.

/Jade is acting calm, but I can see the fear in his eyes. Why does he keep looking over here, and not at Luke?/

"Ghost? What are you talking about?" Luke replied.

"Ah, still as thick as ever I see. What I mean is, well, you two haven't been around in a while. It seems like you've forgotten how to shower, too." Jade said.

/What a nice way to put it./

Asch hadn't talked the entire time, mostly because he knew Luke could talk enough for the both of them. He was extremely dizzy all of the sudden too, but he fought against it. Passing out was not something he planned to do again.

Luke and Jade were still talking, but Asch couldn't focus enough to listen.

/He still keeps looking over here. What are they even talking about? Something about how long Luke's hair is? That hardly seems like an important topic. I guess it is pretty long, though. Almost as long as mine is. Wait, no, he's just trying to distract Luke so he can focus on me./

Asch let out another vicious cough that seemed to scrape his insides. Pulling back his hand, he saw that blood covered it in thick, black clots. Usually, it had just been nothing more than a few red drops dotting the inside of his palm.

/Definitely a bad sign./

"Maybe we should continue this talk elsewhere, Luke. I'll rent you two a room up at the hotel so you have somewhere warm to stay." Jade said, while eyeing the bench.

Luke replied with a simple thank you, and then turned back to Asch. "Are you ready to-?"

He stopped talking mid sentence when he saw that Asch was no longer conscious, in fact he had completely collapsed into the bench. He ran over to him and began to yell as if Asch could hear him.

"Your friend doesn't look so good, Luke. I think I need to have a serious discussion with him, too, and he needs to be alive for that. You'll carry him for me, won't you? I don't think my old back could handle the strain." Jade interrupted sarcastically.

"Jade, don't make light of this," he muttered and went to gather Asch.

"Right then. Come on, come on, we don't have all night."


	7. Green Eyes

Asch slowly opened his eyes and glanced around his new surroundings. It was dark except for a dim lamp on the table next to him, and two other lights strewn across the room.

/Right, I'm in a hotel. We were talking outside about something before.../

Asch gave out a heavy sigh; he passed out _again_. To be honest, he didn't feel any better than he did before had fallen unconscious.

/Wait, where's Jade? And what was his problem with me earlier?/

He heaved himself into an upright position and inspected the new room. There were two beds, both with a nightstand to the left of it. The entire place was very uniform, with a bathroom off the left and a kitchen to the right. Asch did a double take as he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He jumped out of his own skin when he saw that Jade was here, awake, and had watched him the entire time. The only reason Asch had even noticed was because Jade flipped the page in his book.

"What are you doing here?" Asch's throat felt as if it was on fire.

"Oh, you're awake? I hadn't noticed." Jade said, without looking up from his book.

Asch ignored his sarcastic comment and continued to look around the room. Were they the only two in here?

"Are you looking for Luke? How sweet of you to care." Jade smoothly remarked without looking up.

/He's one son of a bitch, that's right. Of all the people to meet first, why'd it have to be this jackass?/

"Well, I believe he went for a walk. He doesn't seem to have that much of a stomach for blood you see, and since I had so much stitching and fixing up on you, he left." Jade answered.

/When did he.../

Asch looked down and saw he was covered in bandages and bloody gauze. There were stitches in places he didn't even know had been wounded, like all over his stomach and chest. He didn't even want to look down at his left leg, knowing it was a war zone.

/Wait, why am i not wearing a shirt? I guess that would make it easier to operate on, but only wearing boxers is pretty uncomfortable. Jade is such a creepy bastard to not even mention it./

Jade continued talking, "I'm pretty sure you aren't very familiar with the seventh fonon, are you? Well, the seventh fonon should be used to heal wounds inside out, not outside in. While you did stop the bleeding, your insides were torn up with no way to heal themselves because the wound was already closed. So that left me with the lovely job of cutting you open and stitching you back up so they would close naturally."

That did make perfect sense, but he'd be dead if he hadn't taken the measures he had to. Next time he'd be much more careful when healing himself or anyone else.

"Ah, thanks, Jade." Asch muttered.

/I don't think he used anything to help with the pain, either. Thanks for that, too./

"It was my pleasure, Asch." Jade said with a smile.

/How can anyone put up with this guy?/

Jade's face suddenly got more serious. He folded the corner of the page in his book, shut it, and placed it on the ground. Then he stood up and walked over to the bed next to Asch's, so he could sit facing Asch.

"Luke says you're the same Asch who died 2 years ago. Luke also says he has no idea what's going on. I believe that, but I don't believe you are as ignorant as you seem."

Jade looked almost angry, but he was always upset when there was trouble dealing with his research.

"I'm not sure the exact science, and I don't know any of the formulas or any of the processes. All I know that they are capable of recreating people with the same basic memories." Asch replied.

"So you aren't the only one? Who else have you seen that shouldn't be here?"

"Take your best guess." Asch said.

Luke suddenly burst through the door and ran over to Asch. His face was red and blotchy as if he had been crying.

/What an idiot./

"Asch I thought Jade was going to kill you! You lost so much blood, and," Luke started rambling on while trying to grab at Asch.

Asch pushed him away and ignored the pain in his side. Luke's careless movements were like stabs of sharp agony, but if he told him that he'd probably only fuss over him more.

"Get off of me, will you?" Asch replied and tried not to cry out in pain as Luke gave him a tight squeeze.

/Luke really is ignorant, isn't he?/

"As touching as this is, I really would like to continue our discussion, Asch." Jade said, although his tone was different.

/I think Jade is a lot more involved than he tries to play off. He didn't even seem surprised that I was here. Nothing seems to phase him, though./

"I agree, Jade. But I think it's time you tell us what's going on." Asch bitterly replied.

Luke looked at the both of them, as if he had only just noticed the tension in the room. He sat himself down by Asch, but didn't say anything.

"You may not believe me, but I definitely gave up fomicry a long time ago. I did know that someone had revived my research though, and he or she managed to combine memories with replicas. Of course, it's not as if we couldn't do that in the first place, but that was even a little too unethical for me. And they were always so incomplete, missing too many memories to even be 10% of the person they were before." Jade went on, not even phased by Asch's accusation.

"Luke," Asch breathed, "it's Luke isn't it?"

"Excuse me?" Luke said, surprised he was being entered into the conversation.

"Interesting idea. In fact, that makes perfect sense. Except, it doesn't explain all the other replicas with intact memories."

"Is someone going to explain to me what's going on?" Luke said, suddenly interested after hearing his name.

/Of course it's gonna have to be me./

"The only reason that I have the same personality, feelings, emotions towards everyone is because they had somewhere to go. When I died, all my memories stayed with you instead of being lost in the planets memory as fragmented memory particles." Asch explained.

"It's only because you're isofons, naturally. Even though you may not have been aware of it, Luke, you held onto all of his memories. So, to recreate Asch, all you have is to-" Jade stopped as Luke cut him off.

"Just take them out of me? Is that really possible?" Luke continued.

"To put it simply, yes. However, that doesn't answer for all the other replicas, like-"

"I think that's enough discussion for today." Asch said angrily over Jade, and then stood up.

The clawing dizziness came back, so he abruptly sat back down so that he wouldn't be out for another couple of hours. Jade eyed him suspiciously through the top of his glasses but didn't press the matter any further.

"Anyway, I thought you'd be out for a lot longer, Asch. You shouldn't even be awake after all that blood loss, or even alive."

"I'm completely fine." Asch replied sarcastically, but then added," except I'm actually a little hungry."

/More like about to die from starvation./

"Excellent idea. Luke, take care of that for me, would you? I could really go for some coffee." Jade replied.

Luke seemed put off that he was being made to run errands, but he knew when he wasn't wanted. He stalked out of the room and shut the door loudly behind him.

/I'll tell him what he actually needs to know later./

"So what's the plan now?" Jade asked, as if he didn't already know.

"I guess I'm just going to have to rebuild my strength and find out who's behind all of this. Then we destroy the building and send him to hell." Asch replied.

/Especially if Van is involved./

"What about Luke? You can't just leave him in the dark about Van, either." Jade said.

"Luke has a lot of catching up to do, and a lot of people to keep him busy. I can handle this." Asch said.

/Can I handle this? I don't even have my hyperresonance, and all my allies are convinced I'm dead./

"Well, I'm sure we can help you. Or at least I can, because I've looked into it myself. There's only one man who could even attempt to decipher my research and put it to good use. The only one still alive, at least."

/I remember Luke talking about how they saw Dist at Nebilim's Crag. You know, that really isn't too far from here, is it? Even closer to that building, too./

"Why would Dist even bother recreating me, or Van for that matter? It doesn't make any sense." Asch said.

"Maybe he just got lonely. He doesn't have any friends, you know." Jade replied, and stood up from the edge of the bed.

"Are you just going to avoid the question?" Asch growled back.

/His attitude gets old quick./

"Don't leave this room without me knowing so, please? There are plenty of spies already in this city just waiting to meet you." He said with an icy smile.

And with that, Jade picked up his book and left the room.

/Spies? Who is he talking about? Maybe himself?/

Jade was many things, but he wasn't an enemy of Luke. Besides, they had no one else to trust to at this point.

/I could really use some clothes, too./

Asch pulled his legs out from underneath the blanket and saw that he was still covered in soot and blood. His calf was bandaged up completely so that all he could see was red-stained gauze, but the pain let him know that it was still an awful wound. He slowly lifted up the tape to see the damage, but just as he tried to, Luke came barging through the door yet again.

/He has awfully good timing./

"Hey, Jade told me not to let you mess with your wounds!" Luke ran over and hit Asch across the chest with his arm to push him away.

Asch reached out to push back, but he dodged him easily. When Luke stopped laughing at his horrible reflexes, he handed Asch some neatly folded clothes.

"Don't ask me why Jade had an extra of your old uniform, because I don't know either. We can find you something better, if you want." Luke said as he slowly sipped on his coffee.

/My old clothes... wait, why did Jade have them?!/

"Is he always this creepy? Oh well, at least its convenient. Here, hand me those." Asch mumbled as he reached out for the uniform.

The clothes seemed a lot bigger than he'd remembered. He held out the shirt in front of him and it seemed way too large to belong to him.

/Have I really lost this much weight?/

Luke eyed him nervously, as if he noticed too. However, he didn't say anything.

"Ah, well, I got you some dinner from the little diner on the second floor. I wasn't really sure what you like because I've never actually seen you eat. But I decided that I should probably stick with bland foods since your stomachs so weak and-" Luke began to trail off in some long explanation.

"Actually, before I eat anything, I'm going to go take a shower. It was a waste to put on these clothes in the first place if I'm just gonna get them dirty." Asch said.

/He really doesn't know when to stop talking, does he?/

Asch decided not argue when Luke helped him off the bed and over to the bathroom door.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Luke said anxiously, unable to let go of Asch.

"I'll be fine, Luke. Besides you aren't going to convince me otherwise." Asch replied and pulled Luke's arm off of his shoulder.

Asch gave a sarcastic wave over his shoulder and shut the door behind him.

* * *

When Luke heard the water turn on, he relaxed a little.

/Leaving him alone makes me nervous./

In fact, Luke hadn't slept much at all since they had made it to Keterburg. The sleepless nights of worrying had put him even more on edge.

/Maybe I'll just take a quick nap now. It's gonna take him forever to scrub off all that blood and dirt, and waiting isn't going to do me any good. I know I was in there forever trying to get all this dirt off, and I wasn't half as bad./

He flipped the lamp off near the bed, leaving the room shadowed in a cool darkness. Luke laid down on one of the beds, not even bothering to lift up the covers. It only took seconds for him to drift off into a deep slumber, leaving his worries far behind.

He felt as if he had only blinked when he reopened his eyes. The shower was still running, so it couldn't have been too long. He lazily yawned and stretched out his arms, only to realize there was a cool pressure against his neck. And he wasn't alone.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." An unfamiliar voice called out from the darkness.

/It's the middle of the night, not the morning. Is this some stupid joke?/

Luke froze. He knew that voice all too well. He also knew he was in no situation to fight back with a knife pressed against his throat.

"Ah, It's been awhile hasn't it?" Luke said hoarsely.

/I can't panic now. There's got to be a way out of this, I have to think./

Luke bit back the panic and decided to weigh out his options. There was a possibility he could escape if he could find his attacker's position and distract him long enough to escape the knife at his throat.

/Maybe I could contact Asch. But what good would that do?/

"You do realize I only have to bring one of you back, right? If you try anything, I'll-" the voice stopped short.

Luke had struck his arm out wildly and somehow managed to land a solid hit in the boy's stomach. He then rolled himself off the bed and away from the knife, although he was only safe for a moment.

/It's so dark, I can't see anything!/

"You little-!" the shrill voice called out, and Luke was suddenly wrestling for control on the floor.

/He's quicker than I expected!/

The darkness of the room made it impossible to tell which hand the knife was in, so Luke tried to get control of his attackers arms and pin him on the ground. He suddenly found himself in the opposite place, however, with himself pinned to the ground.

/This isn't good. I can't even move my arms. In a few seconds, I'm going to be completely trapped and have no escape!/

The knife carelessly brushed his cheek and left a bitter sting. His attacker was having the same problems with sight, and he was striking out wildly with the knife while trying to keep Luke pinned down. Luke continued to struggle to free himself but it was useless; he was completely restrained under the weight of his attacker with both of his hands pinned above his head. The only movement he had left was shifting his head from side to side to avoid the quick swipes of the knife.

The knife suddenly stopped wildly stabbing in the dark, and everything fell silent except for Luke's heavy breathing.

Suddenly, the knife was at his neck again, it's cool blade beginning to slowly pierce the fragile skin around his throat. Apparently he wanted to be more careful about killing him, rather than splitting his skull with a lucky stab.

/I can't breathe! Someone, anyone, please help me!/

"Any last words?" The boy sneered.

Luke shut his eyes, unable to speak with the knife pressed against his throat. Or maybe he was just choked up from his impending death.

Suddenly, he knew exactly what to say.

"Look out!" Luke yelled, and then winced when he heard a deafening bang.

The attacker suddenly collapsed and the knife carelessly slipped out from his hand.

"What the hell is Sync doing here?" Asch said as he carefully lifted the body off of Luke.

/So I was right; it really was him. Did they make copies of all the god generals, not just Sync?/

Luke scrambled away from the body and looked incredulously up at Asch, who held a (now broken) lamp in one hand and grasped a towel around his waist. His hair was dripping wet, along with the rest of him.

Asch suddenly realized why Luke was looking at him so strangely and muttered, "I heard all the noise and didn't have time to-"

/It's a good thing he didn't wait to dry off, because I might not be alive now if he had./

"Thanks," Luke said awkwardly, pulling himself off the ground.

His hands were shaking like crazy, in fact, his entire body was vibrating from fear and adrenaline.

Asch placed the broken lamp back on the table and then looked back at Luke.

"Is your throat, I mean," Asch paused, then finally said, "are you alright?"

/Somehow, I managed to escape with only a couple scratches./

Asch walked away as if he wasn't expecting an answer, although he probably just heard what Luke had thought. He flipped the light switch on and walked back over to the unconscious body on the floor.

He prodded at the green-haired boy with his foot, almost afraid to touch him. It was pretty unbelievable that Sync was here in the first place.

"You'd better go get Jade."

* * *

"Fomicry sure is a nasty business, isn't it, Asch?"

/This is the last thing I need at one in the morning./

Asch winced as Jade began to re-wrap his abdomen in gauze and medical tape. This healing process was going to be way too tedious if he had to change the gauze every couple of hours; especially if he couldn't do it himself.

Once they had called Jade over, he made quick work of tying Sync up to a chair just incase he woke up.

/I'm still not sure where he got that rope from./

The best option would be to question Sync and figure out what exactly was going on. If he ever woke up, that is. Asch had no mercy when he smashed that lamp against his head; Sync's green hair even had blood in it.

"All done!" Jade said cheerfully as he patted Asch on the back.

Asch cringed at his touch and shrunk away to go put his shirt back on.

/He knows I have cuts and blisters all over my skin, and yet he still pats me on the back. Meanwhile Luke hasn't said a word; he just keeps staring off into space. I wonder what he's thinking about?/

Asch had never really gone out of his way to spy on what Luke was thinking because it was usually so open to him. But for some reason, Luke was completely closed off now.

"You don't have to stay, Jade. I'll wake you up if Sync comes to." Asch said slowly, not taking his eyes off Luke.

Jade eyed them both before gracefully standing up and leaving them with a sarcastic farewell.

"Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite!"

The door clicked as it shut behind him, and suddenly the room fell silent.

Asch finally spoke up after a few moments of silence and said," You can get some sleep, if you want. I'll keep watch over him."

Luke didn't respond, he just bit his lip and continued to stare into nothing.

"Luke?"

No response.

"Hey, Luke."

No response.

"Answer me, dammit!"

Asch hurled a pillow at Luke and he finally looked up.

"Did you say something to me?" Luke questioned thoughtfully.

His voice was shaky and low, as if he was having trouble talking. Asch suddenly felt guilty for yelling, even though Luke didn't even notice.

"Get some sleep, you look exhausted."

Luke slowly nodded, and pulled the covers to the side so he could lay under them. As he rested his head on the pillow, he quietly asked, " Asch? Have you eaten anything yet?"

/He already knows the answer to that./

"I'm getting around to it. I've been a little busy, you know?" Asch said while laughing weakly, but his humor was lost on Luke.

Luke rolled over to his side facing away from Asch and wrapped himself up in a blanket.

/Well goodnight to you, too./

Asch sighed loudly and walked into the tiny kitchen. He actually ate something for the first time in a couple of days and it tasted like heaven. He'd almost forgotten that food existed; he'd never been a big eater in the first place. After a couple bites he was already full to the point of nausea, even though he had barely made a dent in his meal. Asch carefully put the food back in the fridge and opted for some water.

He walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the empty bed while taking a glance over at their prisoner. Sync was still slumped in his chair and looked dead to the world.

/Sync doesn't look too good, either. They've probably been treating him the same way as I was treated back there, with all the tests and experiments. But for some reason he still seemed dedicated to bring us back, so that means he followed orders without running away. Why's he so loyal when he has nothing to gain from those people?/

Asch gave another loud sigh and tried to relax into the bed. He soon realized it was impossible to get comfortable without putting pressure on one wound or the other. Pain racked his entire body, but at least he was healing.

/It's gonna take months before I'm back to normal, isn't it?/

He felt a wave a nausea overtake his stomach and made a dash to the bathroom. Apparently he wasn't ready for food and his body let him know immediately. He vomited back up everything he'd just eaten, along with some blood. Asch wiped his mouth and held his head in his hands to fight off the horrible headache.

/How lovely. Ugh, my mouth tastes awful./

Asch fought back the urge to throw up again and washed out his mouth. When he shut off the sink, he could hear some low muttering, as if someone was talking. He ran into the main room and saw that Sync was still unconscious.

/Then who was talking?/

He slowly crept over to Luke and looked over the mass of blankets to see that he was twitching in his sleep. He was definitely saying something although it was impossible to understand. Suddenly, his actions got more frantic and Luke began to toss and turn. His voice got louder until it sounded like he was screaming, and there were tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Hey! Luke, wake up!" Asch began to shake him and tried to yell over Luke's screaming voice.

Luke began to fight against him and ended up smacking him in the jaw. Asch ignored the pain in his mouth and yelled his name again while shaking him furiously.

/Nothing's working! He sounds like he's dying... I've never heard someone in so much pain./

Asch stopped shaking him, realizing it was no use. He silently wrapped his arms around Luke's trembling body hoping to quell his horrible nightmares. This time Luke seemed to snap out of his trance, and he suddenly stopped fighting against Asch. His sobs slowly died down, and a heavy silence fell over the room. Asch gave a sigh of relief and let go of Luke, causing him to sink back into the bed.

"It's okay, Luke. You're going to be fine."

Luke was looking up at Asch glassy-eyed and bewildered. He slowly glanced around as if he didn't remember his surroundings, but eventually relaxed back into the covers. He placed his hands over his eyes and tried to slow down his heavy breathing.

/It's a good thing he's back to normal. I don't think I could handle much more of his horrible screams./

After a few moments of silence, Luke asked, "What happened to your mouth, Asch? You're bleeding."

/You hit me, you jackass./

Asch hadn't really noticed, but his lip was definitely bleeding.

"It's nothing. Besides, you're should be worrying about yourself. What happened?"

Luke seemed to put two and two together and quietly apologized for hitting him.

"Don't avoid the question." Asch said, biting back the anger.

/It really wasn't his fault, and I probably shouldn't be angry./

"Just a bad dream, I guess." Luke muttered.

Luke looked lost in thought as if he had suddenly remembered something he'd long forgotten.

"If you're letting this thing with Sync bother you, then-" Luke cut him off, not letting Asch finish his sentence.

"That's not it. It really was just a bad dream. I was in this awful building that was on fire, and I could feel my skin burning. There was no way to escape; it was like someone had left me there to die. It was just so real, Asch." Luke said while trembling, then buried his face in his hands.

Asch felt frozen in place. Luke was describing his memories as if they'd happened to him. But how would he have known?

/Maybe I lost control of my ability to shield my thoughts from Luke when I was throwing up my guts. I let my guard down when I assumed he was asleep, and completely lost control of it for a few moments. Does that mean I have to constantly keep my mind guarded, even when I sleep?/

Luke took his face out from his hands and observed Asch with a weird look on his face.

"What?" Asch asked.

"It wasn't just a dream, was it?" Luke slowly asked as he pieced together the facts.

/Shit. He knows./

Asch didn't answer; he didn't have to.

"Is this what you wouldn't to tell me? I had no idea," Luke said quietly.

/But how much does he know? Is it just snippets, or all of my thoughts over the past couple of days?/

Asch suddenly felt a heavy pressure on his head, as if the nausea was coming back along with the waves of headaches.

/I can't pass out again, and I definitely can't throw up again. I'm already weak enough as it is; I doubt I have enough energy to get back up again. Besides, Luke would probably have a panic attack./

Luke whipped his head around to look at Asch. "Again? When did you throw up?"

"Wha, What are you talking about?" Asch asked as if he had no idea.

Luke stood up from his bed and repeated his question, sounding much angrier than the first time.

/How can he suddenly hear what I'm thinking? What the hell is going on?/

Luke brought his hand up and slapped it across Asch's face so hard that his head spun with the force of it.

"Do you think I'm stupid? Why do you keep lying to me? You've been lying this entire time about how you're feeling! Do you think I can't tell that you're dying?" Luke was practically shouting, and he was definitely fighting back tears.

/He's so exhausted he probably doesn't even know what he's saying. Sleep deprivation can really get to someone, I should know. I can't get mad. I won't get mad. Alright, forget it, I'm pissed./

Asch fixed his gaze on the ground and rubbed the side of his face. A bright red hand mark was already forming on his cheek, but it didn't seem to sting as much as it should have. For some reason he didn't feel as mad as he should've been.

He knew Luke was expecting an answer, but he didn't have one.

"I'm," Asch paused, but went with the obvious answer, "I'm sorry."

/It's my burden to bear. Why would I involve people who don't deserve to have to worry about me all day long?/

"Is that really all you have to say?" Luke said bitterly.

Asch kept looking at the ground, unable to meet the angry gaze of Luke. His eyes were a glowing shade of green, and the color was sharpened from all the tears. He couldn't handle looking back at him without breaking down himself.

There were a few minutes of pure silence until Asch finally looked him in the eyes. Luke hadn't been angry this entire time, instead, his gaze was full of pain and pity. An unbearable sadness darkened his entire face, highlighting the gaunt shadows in his face.

"Don't look at me like that." Asch muttered, but kept his gaze transfixed on Luke's.

"You don't have to face this all by yourself, Asch. I don't know why I can suddenly tell what your thinking or feeling. My entire body feels like a train wreck and I'm fighting off the urge to vomit. Worst of all, I know that none of this is as bad as you're suffering. And you've hidden it from me the entire time." Luke's anger was gone from his voice.

/I definitely don't need your pity./

"I didn't ask for this, Luke. And it's really none of your business what's going on with me in the first place. You need to get over yourself, and leave me alone about this." Asch was the angry one now, and was in Luke's face.

Luke's own fear flashed in his eyes, as if he had suddenly realized what he'd done.

/He's the one who deserves to get the shit beaten out of him./

Asch raised his hand to leave a matching red mark on Luke's face, but stopped short of slapping him. Luke looked so pathetic it wasn't even worth hitting him. He was obviously succumbing to pain and exhaustion, reflected in the weak, green gaze. There was nothing to gain from taking out his anger on Luke, all he would lose is the only person who cared about him still left in the world.

/I hate to say it, but he's the only person worth trusting anymore. I can't hit him, no matter how angry I truly am. When did I turn into such a sensitive idiot?/

Asch lowered his hand down to his side and balled up his fists angrily. He bitterly stalked off to another room with loud footsteps; he just basically wanted anywhere Luke wasn't.

"Ah, Lover's quarrel?" A voice called out from the other room.

Asch whipped his head around and saw that Sync was awake and alert. His eyes were glowing with curiosity; he didn't even seem to mind being tied up.

"I'm just as surprised to see you too, Asch. Of course, here we both are, alive and breathing. People just keep coming back from the grave, it's spooky, isn't it? Van's probably the spookiest of all, especially with all that rage in his eyes. He's out to get you both, and I'd watch out if I were you. You both don't seem very alert at all, especially with how close I came to-"

Luke cut him off, and he suddenly looked angry again.

"Van?" He asked very quietly, but his voice was shaking with anger.

He looked over at Asch bewildered, but soon realized he was the only one in the room who didn't know.

Asch started backing away as Luke began stalking towards him with his fist already raised.

/Shit, I think it's time to make a quick escape. Since when did Luke get this angry so easily? Am I rubbing off on him?/

Asch stopped backing up when he felt himself running into something else. He jerked his head around and saw that Jade was standing over him, looking very amused at the situation.

/Where the hell did he come from? I didn't even hear the door open!/

"It seems the party started without me. Now now, settle down boys. I think we have much more important matters to deal with."


	8. Enter the Amazing Asch?

/I don't feel too good./

In fact, Luke didn't feel well at all. His head was throbbing, and his body felt heavy. Every time he moved his arm or even blinked it seemed to take longer, almost as if gravity was out to get him. It was an odd soreness that felt diluted and enveloped his entire body, but most of all the ghostly pain didn't seem to belong to him.

Luke slowly swiveled his head to the right and saw that Jade and Asch were sitting near Sync. Jade seemed somewhat upset, but hid it well. Meanwhile, Asch was yelling furiously while Sync was falling back in his chair with laughter.

He'd opted out of the interrogation due to the fact that he was angry at every single person in the room, and he wasn't very good with questions and arguments in the first place.

/They told me to sleep, but I don't think I honestly can. Not with all these confusing thoughts going through my head. Worst of all, they aren't even mine./

Asch's thoughts and memories had suddenly come crashing into Luke's head, leaving him with a very cluttered conscious. He had so many reasons to be angry with Asch, especially with his rude outlook on most of Luke's actions. However, there were so many little hidden comments and ideas and feelings Asch seemed to fail to mention that made Luke unable to feel angry.

/Asch's thoughts sound a lot different from what he's actually saying./

Luke suddenly realized that Asch was now looking at him with annoyed expression. As he opened his mouth to say something, Jade stood up and got in between the two.

"This conversation is obviously going nowhere quickly." Jade said, trying to keep his cheerful demeanor.

"Like I said before, I don't know much. All I know is my mission," Sync tilted his head and flashed a smile, "and all the little details I'm not going to tell you."

Jade put his hand to his face and sighed. Asch seemed pretty defeated too, not even bothering to get angry at Sync anymore.

"So, what do we do now? I'm sure you have some medieval torture devices in your room, Jade. Or maybe we can just toss him into a snow bank and come back for him in the morning." Asch muttered.

/He sure is cranky without sleep. Or maybe its just a combination of many things seeing as he's more focused on keeping himself upright than he is concerned about Sync's snide comments./

Jade gave an icy smile and replied, "Chin up, Asch. We can just have my men take him away and have the professionals handle him."

/So he didn't deny Asch's comment of owning torture devices./

Asch stood up this time and took a nice, long stretch. He seemed content for a moment, but suddenly stopped mid-yawn and glanced around the room quickly. Jade seemed alarmed too but controlled it much more gracefully. He then whispered something in Asch's ear.

Asch gave a nod of approval and then ran over to Luke who was still sitting on the bed confused. Before Luke could even ask why, Asch pushed him off the bed and crouched down on the floor next to him behind the bed.

/Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell me rather than push me off the bed?/

"What's going on, Asch?" Luke whispered.

"Voices outside." Asch replied quietly.

Luke desperately wanted to ask more questions, but Asch was giving him a glare that meant that this wasn't the time to mess with him. Instead, Luke peered over the edge of the bed and saw that Jade had moved Sync out of the hallway and gagged him so that whoever was entering the room couldn't see or hear him.

/Is a closet really the best place for hiding a body?/

He watched as Jade went over to see who was at the door. Asch pulled Luke's head down before he could see the unwelcome visitor, however.

"Oh, goodness, you sure did give us all a fright." Jade remarked cheerfully.

"You're the one who's scaring me, Jade. The late night phone calls and midnight ferry tickets, you know? What's this big secret, and why am I involved? Wait, who else is here?"

/Hey... I know that voice!/

Luke jumped up from his hiding place and ran to the door. Asch tried to pull him back, but unfortunately, there was no stopping Luke.

* * *

"Wha-what's going on here Jade? Is this a prank?"

"Guy, is that you?" Luke exclaimed happily.

Guy didn't seem as delighted to see him, however, and stayed near the edge of the door. He gave Luke a suspicious look, as if he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Then he began to glance back and forth between Jade and Luke expecting one of them to speak.

/Does he really think I'm a hallucination or something? I guess I'd be surprised too, but-/

Without warning, Guy ran over to Jade and launched him against a wall with a forceful push. He held him up against the wall with his arm against his throat and another hand ready to punch him.

"You bastard! You've experimented with fomicry again, haven't you? I thought, well, you promised didn't you? You wouldn't-" Guy was yelling but he slowly calmed down mid sentence and looked back over at Luke.

/How could he not believe me?/

"Did you just call me Guy? Wait, how do you know who I am?" Guy questioned without taking his eyes off Luke.

/He's still holding Jade up against the wall; I wonder why Jade hasn't pushed him away by now?/

"It's me, Guy." Luke said quietly.

Guy slowly backed off from Jade and looked around the room.

"Who else is in here?" Guy asked suspiciously.

"Ah, before we get to that, I'm going to close the door so that we don't get any wondering looks from strangers. Maybe you two should have a seat."

Luke began to walk over to the main bedroom, but was stopped short by Guy grabbing the back of his arm. He turned around to see an unsettling softness in Guy's eyes, the way one would look at a long-lost brother.

"Luke, I-" Guy got choked up mid-sentence and had to clear his throat.

"Your hair has gotten pretty long, hasn't it?" He finished, unable to say anything else.

Luke's face relaxed and he couldn't help but smile. Guy was obviously fighting back a breakdown from the glassy look in his eyes. He still hadn't let go of Luke's arm, either, but it didn't seem like Guy had noticed yet. Suddenly, he pulled him into a tight embrace and Luke welcomed it. He was shaking, but Luke couldn't tell if it was from disbelief or happiness.

/It didn't really matter./

"It's really you, isn't it?" Guy whispered.

He pulled away and got a good look at Luke before saying, "You look a little beaten up. What happened? In fact, where have you been for the past two years? You know, I never gave up on you. They even had a funeral, but I didn't go because, well-"

"Two years," Luke muttered, then shot a glance back at the bed where Asch was now neatly sitting on the bed Indian style.

/How could it have been two whole years?/

Asch had picked up whatever book Jade was reading in an attempt to avoid attention, but he knew Luke was glaring at him. He hunched his shoulders to look more involved in the book, but Luke assumed he probably didn't understand a word of it.

Guy suddenly realized that there was, in fact, another person in the room. He backed away from Luke and glanced over at Jade who shrugged his shoulders to avoid the blame. Guy looked back at Luke who opened his mouth to explain, but he just walked past him to get a better look.

"So someone has experimented with fomicry?" Guy murmured while anxiously peering at Asch.

He seemed scared by the angry looks Asch was giving him over the top of his book, but still eyed him just the same.

/He doesn't look healthy, that's for sure. I think Guy's more shocked at the fact he's here than his awful state, however./

Guy examined Asch as if he would dissolve into the air at any moment.

"Are you just gonna keep staring with your mouth open all night?" Asch said angrily.

/He's acting angry, but I can tell he's just scared. He's scared of seeing anyone, not just Guy./

Guy jumped back in surprise, as if he didn't expect Asch to actually talk to him. He pointed a finger at Asch then looked back over at Luke and Jade.

"Can someone please explain what is going on?"

"I'm sure Luke knows better than I. Luke, if you would." Jade said politely.

/Of course it's going to be me./

* * *

/If Guy doesn't stop looking over here I think I'm going to have to kill him./

Jade seemed to notice Asch discomfort and gave him a grin. He then asked, "So did you like the book?"

Asch braced his head on his arm and sighed. Was his only company going to Jade from now on? Luke and Guy were off in their own little world, conversing and arguing about their different adventures.

/It's not like I'm jealous or anything./

"Hm, it was fascinating. But what's with the sudden interest in the composition of fonons?" Asch replied.

/To be honest, I didn't understand much of it./

"Well, it's always been an interest of mine. Right now, however, it seems like that book is incorrect."

"What do you mean by that, Jade?"

Jade narrowed his eyes and gave Asch a sharp look. He then sat closer to Asch as if to make sure Guy and Luke wouldn't overhear what he was about to say.

"What I'm saying is, someone's changing the rules. Fonons have stayed the same since the beginning of time, all that humans have done is discover and categorize them. Of course, the mutation of the seventh fonon is a different story, but besides that things haven't changed much. Your fonons, however," Jade paused and lowered his glasses,"are different from all the existing fonons, including the seventh."

/Different? What does that even mean?/

Jade's red eyes were gleaming as if someone had given a child a new toy. He'd definitely have to steer clear of this man in the future if he didn't want to end up as another research subject.

/I'm guessing that spell he placed on his eyes is how he noticed in the first place. So, hopefully, no one can tell but him. That's probably why he kept looking at me so oddly when we first met in the middle of the night, too./

"Are you trying to tell me that Dist's created a completely new fonon energy? That's not possible or else you would have already done it yourself. Wait, what does that even mean?" Asch replied shakily.

"Yes, and no. While it's true that you have a completely different fonic energy, it's more of a combination of all the other fonons in existence. Your energy isn't a mutation like the seventh fonon, which means that someone obviously did it on purpose and it wasn't a mistake made by nature; the combination created a new energy altogether. It's impossible to create new matter out of thin air, and it always will be. But your existence is proof that new types of artificial fonons can always be discovered.

"Well, does this change anything? Will I, I mean-" Asch couldn't seem to finish his sentence.

/Are Luke and I still isofons? It'd be impossible for me to be here now if we weren't, right?/

"It's impossible to say. Technically, the only people who can answer that are out trying to kill and or capture you, which means you are a threat. Before you ask, no, Sync is just like any other replica. That's what's the most worrying." Jade sounded serious, something that didn't happen often.

/Is Van a normal replica, too?/

Jade continued without an answer from Asch, "Instead of being Luke's isofon, you are every single person's isofon. You are a compilation of every single different fonon frequency, and once you regain your strength you'll soon realize it."

/Every single person? I think I'm gonna be sick if I have to listen to everyone's thoughts. This sounds like it's straight out of a comic book; 'Enter the Amazing Asch: Mind Reader from the Future'. Or maybe I can join the AbyssMan squad to fight crime in the streets of Baticul./

"Are you two alright?" Luke asked out of nowhere.

Asch looked over and saw the Guy and Luke were staring at them both. It had been a heated discussion, causing Asch and Jade to be in each other's faces with pretty grim expressions.

"Oh yes, we're getting along just fine. Asch invited me over for tea later. " Jade replied, and then stood up.

"I think it's best I get going. Guy, will you stay in here for me? I have someone you need to babysit. And Asch, I think there are some interesting things you'll find in that book."

"Babysit? I don't really think Luke needs me to-" Guy answered.

Jade ignored him, but pulled open the closet door and a tied up Sync crashed out of the entrance. He pulled the rolled up cloth from his mouth and tied him to the original chair he'd been fixed to.

"Thanks for understanding, and have a great night. If you need anything, I'm just down the hall!"

With a sarcastic wave, he left the room. An awkward silence soon filled the room as everyone seemed to be having a staring match with Sync.

Asch eventually pulled out the book and flipped through the pages.

/It's full of footnotes and scribbles from Jade. Does he expect me to read all of this?/

"What is that about, anyway?" Luke questioned as he watched Asch flip through the pages.

"Nothing you'd understand." Asch muttered without looking up.

/Nothing I understand, either. I never got an explanation from Jade about how they even create replicas like me. Although, I guess I never really understood replication in the first place./

"You really are the same person as before, aren't you?" Guy said thoughtfully.

Asch sighed, put his book down on the table, and stood up.

/I really could do without all the stares. Even Luke still keeps looking at me, no doubt he's trying to tell what's on my mind./

As he left the room, Luke called out to him. "Where are you going?"

He winced as soon as he put too much pressure on his ankle but was able to give a reply that didn't sound too forced. "I've gotta change the gauze. It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes."

/At least Jade isn't here to do it. He seems to enjoy my pain too much./

He slowly took of his shirt and carefully began unwrapping the bloody fabric around his abdomen.

/It's a good thing I left the room. Luke would probably have a fit if he saw these wounds./

"Ah, Asch, maybe I should help you-" Guy stopped mid sentence when he entered the room.

He slowly came closer to Asch and bent down to get a good look at the wounds.

"What happened to you?" Guy gasped.

Apparently Luke had left that part out of his little story, which Asch was thankful for. The last thing he needed was Guy's _and_ Luke's sympathy.

"I'm fine by myself, thanks. Shouldn't you be watching Sync?" Asch replied hastily without making eye contact with Guy.

"I'm a little creeped out by the guy to be honest. He just looks around smugly, even though I'd be pretty pissed off if I was held captive. I don't even think he wants to escape." Guy was trying his best at conversation, but Asch didn't reply.

/Ow, shit! I really don't think this is the best time to try to get to know each other better./

"Hey, do you need some help with that?" Guy said, reaching out to help Asch.

Asch slapped Guy's hand away and muttered,"You and Luke get some sleep, alright? I'll take care of Sync."

/I bet I can get some answers out of him if no one else is awake./

"But-" Guy tried to help again, only to be pushed away by Asch's swift arm.

Asch lost his balance this time and nearly fell on the floor face-first. He quickly recovered, but the quick recoil pulled at some of his stitches in his back and left him gasping in pain. Guy looked completely shocked and stood there staring, unsure of what to do.

"Go away already." Asch said through pained gasps, and Guy didn't argue with him.

* * *

After an hour of wrapping his wounds and tampering with the seventh fonon, Asch was exhausted and in more pain than he had been originally. He limped back into the main room and saw that Guy had fallen asleep in a chair and Luke had fallen in suit, except Luke was collapsed in the bed instead.

"Looks like you're on guard duty." Sync said enthusiastically.

Asch pulled up a chair next to Sync's and studied his odd behavior. What if some replicas had acquired new personalities? What if this Sync wasn't the one he'd once known?

"Why are you so happy?" Asch grumbled while trying to get comfortable.

"What isn't there to be happy about? You guys obviously don't plan to kill me, and all I have to do is wait for you to let your guard down to capture you."

/He has a point./

"Why are you so intent on killing Luke and me? What could you gain from it?" Asch asked.

"I have nothing to gain. All I have is a purpose, which is enough for me to smile and keep living on. Besides, who ever said anything about killing you? I was just playing around with Luke to freak him out a bit. He doesn't even make eye contact with me anymore, isn't that pathetic?" Sync replied without a hint of sarcasm.

/He has the same brightness Ion used to have, but the same sadistic nature of the old Sync. What if this is actually both a replication of Ion and Sync combined into one person? Is that possible? Or maybe this was how Sync was before he met Van; Sync only wanted to belong, after all, and I don't think he planned to work for Van./

"Is Van the one who ordered you to do this?"

/Sync seems pretty talkative; maybe I can actually find something out./

"Haven't you figured it out yet? This is his 'Master Plan B' to eradicate the Score and humans alike, and if this one doesn't work, there will always be another. Memory particles support not only the Score, but also store our thoughts and emotions. Everything you're thinking and feeling is stored right in the planet's memory. Therefore," Sync paused, "no one truly dies. And even if he starts from scratch with new replicas and no Score, eventually there will be a buildup of new memories in the world, thus recreating the flow of memory particles and starting the cycle all over again. Who says these new replicas won't make their own Score? Religion is the cockroach of human nature; it's almost impossible to completely destroy."

/The Score gives people hope. That's what religion does; it makes you believe in something. Of course people are going to want to keep it around./

"If Van is still planning to destroy the Score, then this makes no sense! Why would he depend on the memory particles if he wants to get rid of the Seventh Fonon completely?" Asch said.

Sync looked over at the two sleeping bodies before continuing, "Nobody said that was what he was trying to do. Why are you so sure Van is behind this?"

/I swear he just told me that was the main reason Van was doing this. Riddles aren't going to make this any easier for me to understand./

Asch was getting frustrated because Sync was only creating more questions than he was answering.

"Then what the hell is going on?"

"You are what's going on. The creation of an independent being free from the Score, free from fonons completely, is what's going on. Unfortunately, all Van's memories were stored in the planet's memory like everyone else's, making him a no good replica just like the rest of us. However," Sync looked over at Luke who was now snoring, "your memories stayed independent from the planet's memory; they never returned where everyone else's memories go after they die. You broke the never-ending cycle. What you think and feel belongs to you alone; your memories will never return to the Planet's Memory. When you die, they will dissolve into nothing."

"So, the new fomicry just relies on using memory particles to recreate people with the same thoughts. That seems impossible, though. How could you sort through all the Planet's Memory just to find the important ones? What if you miss some? Wait, why does it even matter if I'm a different kind of replica?"

Sync sighed and then replied, "I don't know what they do exactly, Asch. Apparently, they missed a couple of my memories, but I'm still fine. You know your little gang of heroes that stopped the Planet Storm? All the memory particles and fonons left in this world are stagnant and running out. There's nothing re-creating enough new fonons; we're just using up what we've got left till we run out. The only way to survive is to create a new fonon with the ability of sustaining itself without any others."

"That's not true. The Planet Storm is just weaker, not completely gone." Asch replied matter-of-factly.

"Technically, yes. But at the rate Malkuth and Kimlasca are using them up, it won't be long. Neither one of them are backing down on their fonic usage no matter how many conferences Princess Natalia holds. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that." Sync said thoughtfully.

Asch winced at the thought of Natalia realizing he was alive.

"Does that make you and Van the good guys in this situation if you're looking for a way to fix the fonic crisis?" Asch said puzzled.

"If we were advocating our new fonon research for the sake of Auldrant, maybe. There's no way we'd would save any of those idiots. No, he'll let them kill each other off and then he can pick up from there. His first approach was too abrasive to work, so now he's just going to sit back and wait. The Score's going to be toast either way."

/Is abrasive really the right word for killing off thousands of people?/

"How can you just overhaul all the fonons on the planet? This planets going to die even if you don't!" Asch was raising his voice at this point while Sync kept his calm disposition.

"The Planet Storm is creating enough fonons for Auldrant to sustain itself; nature doesn't care about the trivial efforts of men. And I say, why should we care about nature? There's no need to coexist when there's a way to exist independent from natural fonons. Once all the people and technology is destroyed, the planet will slowly recover and go back to the way things should be."

"You do realize that I'm the only one with this separate fonon energy, right? How are you and Van going to convert to this new fonon? What about the rest of the god generals?"

Sync gave him a smile and replied, "You'll find out if you come back with me!"

/He's telling me this because he wants me to join them. And since he didn't deny there being new god generals, it's safe to assume that everyone's back. That's why he didn't want anyone else to know./

"What an interesting thing to say! In fact, I've enjoyed this fascinating discussion much more than Asch seemed to."

Asch and Sync whipped their heads around to see that Jade was sitting at the table in the other room while sipping a cup of coffee. He put his cup down and began clapping very slowly as if to commend Sync on his speech.

"How long have you been there?" Sync asked hastily.

/He looks pretty damn nervous. If he was willing to tell me, then why not Jade? He knows I would have told him anyway, doesn't he?/

"Long enough, my little green-haired friend. Of course, if Asch gets any ideas of leaving with you I'm not against holding him captive, too."

/I knew I shouldn't trust him. He's quick to turn on his 'allies'./

Sync sighed dejectedly and replied, "It's only a matter of time before all the God Generals arrive here, anyway. Asch is coming back with us, whether he likes it or not."

Asch stood up angrily and spat, "Hey, wait a second! Why did that man try to kill me back at that god-forsaken building?"

Sync blinked slowly and replied, "So that's why you're in such horrible condition. Beats me, to be honest. Maybe they wanted to see how far they could push you. They run some pretty nasty tests, am I right? I know I wasn't the only one who-"

"I think it's best we leave now, Jade." Asch said curtly.

"I couldn't agree more. Asch, would you wake up the two sleepyheads while I watch Sync?" Jade said, narrowing his eyes at him.

/He really thinks I'd leave with Sync, doesn't he?/

Asch walked over to Luke first, and then realized his eyes were already open. He made eye contact with Asch and then shut them immediately, as if to pretend he was asleep during the conversation. He tapped Luke on the shoulder, attempting to play along with his little game. Luke slowly rose out of bed and stretched his arms as far as they would go to look as if he had taken the most relaxing nap of his life.

Luke let out a large, exaggerated yawn and then said, "Man, how long was I out? That was such a good nap, yep, I slept really well."

/How convincing. I wonder how much he actually heard./

"Get your stuff together, dreck."

Luke gave a sheepish smile and began to gather his things. His hair sure was a mess, as if he'd actually been sleeping.

Asch then eyed Guy still slumped in his chair. He was the only one who actually looked as if he was asleep. He tapped him on the shoulder, but there was no response from him. He tapped him again, this time sending Guy into a frenzy. He jumped from the chair and Asch barely missed the swipe of his sword.

"Hey, what's going on? Are we in trouble? What happened?" Guy shouted, still half-awake from his slumber.

"We'd be fine if you stopped acting like an idiot and put your sword away," Asch growled as he pushed the blade away from his neck with two fingers.

"Ah, sorry, Asch," Guy replied slowly as he sheathed his weapon.

"We're leaving." Asch said coldly as he brushed past him.

Guy didn't argue as he stalked off to gather what little things he had. Asch picked up Jade's book, the only thing he actually had, and limped back to the doorway.

"You're gonna need to stop walking on that ankle if you ever want it to heal. I can carry you, if you'd like," Luke offered.

Everyone gave an odd glance over to Luke.

Asch grumbled indignantly, "I can heal it later."

With a shrug of the shoulders in Guy's direction, Jade said, "I can't begin to understand why you two are such good friends all of a sudden. But I think it's best we-," Jade stopped mid sentence as there was a loud crash on the far end of the room.

/Did someone just jump in through the window?/

"-leave."


	9. Ghosts and Ghouls

A loud explosion shook the hotel and filled the halls with smoke, leaving Luke blind and coughing. There was smoke everywhere, in fact, the halls were lined with thick clouds of swirling white gas. The only thing visible was the red flashing lights refracted through the smog to signify the fire alarm had been set off.

Luke knew he was on the ground, but he wasn't really sure where he'd landed. The smoke seemed to disorient him, or at least that's what he blamed his confusion on.

/A smoke bomb?/

He felt someone grab at his forearm and whipped his head around to see Guy with the same shocked expression plastered on his face. He quickly covered his mouth with the corner of crease in his arm, probably so he wouldn't inhale the smoke. Guy pulled a piece of cloth out of his back pocket and held it out to Luke.

"What's this for?" Luke shouted out over the blaring signal from the alarm.

"Sleeping," Guy paused for a moment to cough, "gas!"

/Sleeping gas?!/

Suddenly, Luke realized just how tired he was. The warm comfort of sleep was already creeping up his spine. Something in his brain told him not to sleep, that he had important work to do, but then again, what would be the harm in a little nap?

He felt someone shaking him violently and reopened his eyes. It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened and shake the sleepiness out of him. Guy was standing over him with a very worried expression on his face.

/When did I close my eyes? And how long was I out? Maybe I should just go back to sleep.../

"Snap out of it!" Guy yelled, but this time Asch was sitting next to him.

/When did Asch get here?/

Asch looked just as exhausted as Luke felt, although he was managing to stay awake. He was covering his mouth with the cuff of his shirt, but it obviously wasn't working due to the sleepy gaze he was giving Luke.

"What do we do?" Luke said frantically.

/There's no escape from this smoke; it's enveloped the entire building!/

Guy looked at them both, hoping for an answer. He obviously didn't know what to do either. Asch sighed and began to mutter something under his breath through his coughs.

/What's he doing?/

Soft breezes of air shot out from nowhere and surrounded the three, blowing away the billowing smoke and creating a small, safe zone of fresh air. Luke saw they were in a corner of the hallway, although everything outside of the small bubble was hazy and unclear.

"Asch, are you okay?" Guy said.

Asch had slumped into the wall as if he was unable to hold himself up. A little blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth, a problem he told Luke 'had gone away completely'.

/What a little son of a-/

"Don't look at me like that, Luke. Coughing is just tearing up my throat." Asch said while weakly wiping his mouth.

Guy looked back at Luke and asked, "What is going on? I mean, what happened?"

Asch cut in over Luke and shouted, "I think Sync called in some backup. We have to get out of here quickly before we're surrounded within the hotel!"

"Big words from someone who can't walk!" Guy called out with a grin.

Asch rolled his eyes and slowly pulled himself to a sitting position.

/I wonder how hard it is to keep up that barrier around us. When did Asch get so good at using artes anyway? Wait a second./

"Where's Jade?" Luke said while squinting into the fog.

Guy seemed to just realize it too. He stood up and squinted into the haze hoping the red glare could illuminate a silhouette.

"It's no use! I can't see anything!" Guy shouted.

The alarm continued to intermittently blare off its warning signal every few seconds and was giving Luke a serious headache.

/Why would they use this tactic? Maybe they don't want it getting out that the god generals are back and are hiding their faces under the cover of the smoke. Wait, I wonder how many people are in the hotel now? Did they all come?/

"As long as we can't see them, they can't see us. Let's use this to our advantage before the smoke screen fades!" Asch called out.

Luke nodded and stood up next to Guy. Asch pulled himself up into a wobbly stance, but ended up leaning on Luke for support while keeping weight off his foot.

As soon as they stood up, the alarm abruptly died down leaving an eerie silence over the fog surrounding them. Right after the alarm shut off, the lights began to flicker before they cut out altogether. Dull emergency lights switched on and gave off weak glows on either side of the hall, although they didn't provide much more help other than being able to distinguish people's faces apart.

/Things just went from bad to worse. How are we supposed to see, much less get out of here?/

"So, we're four floors up and all the power was cut off. The god generals are running around somewhere, although it's odd they wouldn't search this floor first. Jade's nowhere to be found, although I'm sure he's keeping Sync's backup busy. The elevator is a terrible idea, so I guess we should start looking for some stairs even though that's what they're expecting. Alright?" Asch said to break the silence.

/It's amazing he can keep so calm and collected in a situation like this./

Guy and Luke nodded in approval to his idea. Before Asch could argue, Luke pulled him up into his arms and held him tight against his struggles.

"We don't have time to have you hobble around, or to argue about this. Just work with me," Luke stated exasperated as Asch began cursing at him.

"Along with that, we don't know if the floor is going to cave in or already has. I'm assuming that's why no one's on this level; that explosion probably destroyed most of this floor. We're lucky to be alive." Guy added.

He quieted down and scowled, although an undeniable blush crept across his face.

/Since when did he get embarrassed about anything? I guess if there's one thing Asch doesn't want to show, it's weakness./

Guy eyed them both with a weird look on his face before finally saying, "First things first, where are the stairs?"

"If they aren't at this end of the hall, I'd assume the other end," Asch muttered, still unhappy about being toted around all the time.

"What about the smoke? If we keep this space of void air they're gonna know it's us." Luke asked.

"I doubt there's nearly as much smoke in the stairwell. I'll just keep it up as we go through this hallway since no one seems to be around. They would've already attacked us with as much noise we're making if they were here." Asch said.

Jumping over holes and crevices in the flooring, they quickly reached the other end of the hallway and stopped in front of the exit leading to the stairs. The door was jammed from the explosion, and even after a couple attacks from Guy, it still didn't budge. Luke gently placed Asch down on the floor before giving it his best shot. It was still no use; the door wasn't moving.

"It's really stuck in there, isn't it? Luke said dejectedly.

"I guess we could try to jump through one of the holes in the ground," Guy replied.

Asch carefully pulled himself off the ground and muttered, "Can't you two do anything? Stand back."

/He doesn't have enough strength to hold up the barrier and break down the door. I'm going to end up carrying him unconscious through the rest of the building./

Guy seemed to have the same thought when he nervously looked over at Luke, but then shrugged his shoulders.

/I guess we don't have anything left to lose, anyway./

Suddenly a bright flash of yellow illuminated the hallway and when it died down, the door had completely fallen from the hinges and broken apart.

Luke quickly reached out to catch him and said, "Don't overdo it, okay?"

/He's gonna end up killing himself if he doesn't stop overexerting what little strength he has./

Asch didn't look up, he just kept his eyes closed and continued to breathe heavily.

"Well, that's that! Let's get a move on, Luke!" Guy said cheerfully before jumping into the stairwell through the new opening.

/Asch was right. There's not nearly as much smoke in here./

Luke followed in suit and they began to quickly climb down the steep stairs. Around the second floor entrance, Guy suddenly stopped on the last step and held his arm out behind him to prevent Luke from continuing.

"What?" Asch whispered.

"Theres a lot of commotion on this floor. I'm guessing Jade and everyone is battling it out." Guy answered.

"Shouldn't we hurry on past it then?" Asch grumbled while keeping his eyes closed.

"What if Jade needs help?" Guy said angrily.

/He has a point. Depending on who came, Jade could be in serious trouble without any help from us./

"Should we go check?" Luke whispered back.

Guy responded, "No, we can't put Asch in that kind of danger. Wait, it's quiet again."

/What if they heard us? Guy doesn't even understand what kind of danger Asch is in at this point. Wait, does he?/

They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes, until the clamor picked up again. It was easy to distinguish Jade's cocky tone through the door even if they couldn't hear the words he was saying.

"Can't we just leave Asch in the stairwell till we help out Jade?" Guy whispered up at Luke.

/Well, if everyone's on the second floor, it's safer than bringing him into the battle. Besides, no one can get to him if we have all of them condensed in one area. If things get bad we can grab him and make a break for it, right?/

"Will you be okay?" Luke asked Asch who was looking at him with one eye open.

"I'll be just fine. Take care of what you need to." Asch said with a forced smile.

/Well, it wasn't really a smile. More like less of a frown./

He carefully set him down on the metal steps and met Guy at the doorway. With a forceful push from the both of them, they burst through the door and entered the black hallway.

* * *

/Leaving me alone was probably one of their worst ideas yet. But if something happened to Jade, I'd never live it down. Let's just hope the god generals weren't smart enough to split up their forces./

The stairway was dim and only illuminated by one dull light at the very top. The stairs seemed to creak and shift every few seconds, which created misleading noises in the dark. Each sound reminded him of footsteps in one way or another, putting Asch on edge.

/Or are they actually footsteps?/

The paranoia was definitely setting in; he didn't feel safe here. Slowly but surely, he brought himself to a weak standing position and leaned up against the railing.

/I'm so weak; is it my health deteriorating or just this toxic gas? It's almost as if the attackers are trying to dull everyone's senses, even their own./

Asch scanned around the stairs again because the creaks definitely sounded like someone descending the stairs. He pulled himself up against the wall in the darkest corner of the platform next to the door leading to the second floor.

"Ha, looks like we both got left behind, doesn't it?" Sync's voice called out from the darkness.

He was slowly walking from the stairs above while holding tight to his stomach. Asch couldn't figure out what was wrong in the dim light, but from his swaying walk and unsure steps he could tell something was amiss. Sync eventually sat down two steps before the platform and placed his head in his hands.

"I can see you, you know?" Sync said again without bothering to look up.

Asch cleared his throat and answered, "I thought the fighting was on this floor? What happened to you?"

"What happened to me?" Sync answered incredulously.

He continued, "That damn necromancer is what happened to me. I didn't even see him coming. The fighting was on the third floor at one point, or at least that's what I remember. I got knocked out and woke up eventually with the floor caved in all around me. Now I'm making my way out of the building before it gets leveled."

/Leveled? Is it really that much destruction?/

"Then why are you stopping here?" Asch muttered as he took a seat next to him on the step.

"Can't walk any farther, see?" Sync said as he pulled up his pants leg and held out his calf.

Blood was silently dripping out of a gunshot wound in deep red drops, and as Asch looked up the stairway, he realized there was a trail of blood leading down.

"Isn't it sad that one of my own teammates is the one who shot me? She tried to say it was an accident, but Legretta never misses her target. She wanted me out of the chase for some reason." Sync replied with a sigh.

/Probably because you're so unpredictable./

"If it makes you feel any better, I can't walk either." Asch said with a weak laugh.

Sync looked at him thoughtfully and then back at the door.

"Those idiots really left you here, didn't they? They know you can't escape, or even defend yourself, but they left you here. Human nature sure is amazing."

/You can say that again./

"What about you? Your mission is to capture me, and yet you're just sitting on the steps and having a conversation with me." Asch replied.

Sync gave him a weird look, and then let out another heavy sigh. He ran his hand through his bloody, matted hair and then pulled it back.

"I guess I just don't want to. I don't feel like I have anything to gain from putting you through all this. Just know that if you do get captured, it's going to get a lot worse for you and for everybody else involved." Sync said.

/He's acting completely different from before./

There was a huge crash in the hallway and the stairwell was flooded with smoke and dust within seconds. Asch and Sync braced themselves on the railing so they wouldn't be taken away with the force of the explosion.

The doorway had blown open from some unseeable force on the other side and debris from within the room was scattered along the stairwell. Everything suddenly grew became quiet after the commotion, even though the stairwell was still echoing off the noise of the bang. After a few moments, the dust settled and a figure began to form within the hazy smoke.

/Is that.../

Asch immediately jumped into the cloud and pulled a disoriented Luke from the floor and up into the safety of the stairs.

"Luke? Luke, hey! Answer me!" Asch shouted while holding onto Luke's shoulders.

Luke slowly opened his eyes and gave a cheerful smile in Asch's direction.

/Did he hit his head on something?/

"Asch, it's you. I," He paused for a moment and then sat up," What just happened?"

Asch eyed him up and down before he noticed a large gash across his abdomen. There wasn't too much blood, but it wasn't something that should be left alone.

"Sit back, I'm going to heal this." Asch muttered as a glowing green light began to envelop his right hand.

"Asch you can't! You'll-"

Asch completely ignored him and began to trace the wound with stitches of bright light.

/Remember, heal the insides first. Remember to keep yourself upright, too./

He closed his eyes and focused on slowly rebuilding tissues and not forcing the wound shut. The light soon faded and Asch admired how his skill had improved greatly since his last attempt. Of course, it had taken much more out of him than he'd originally planned.

/I'm so sick of being so helpless all the time./

The room began to spin, so he closed his eyes and focused on breathing slowly. When he reopened them, Luke was looking at him suspiciously along with Sync who was poking him in the shoulder.

"Ah! He lives!" Sync cried out.

/Unfortunately./

"We were afraid, well I was, that you had passed out." Luke said nervously.

He glanced over at Sync, then back at Asch as if he was looking for an explanation.

"When did you and Sync, or wait, why did," Luke tried to form a coherent sentence, although only ended up with a bunch of jumbled up words.

/I guess it's weird that were suddenly allies. I still don't trust him, but he seems harmless for now./

"Does it really matter? What happened in there?" Asch hoarsely muttered.

"Guy and I ran in there while Jade was holding off Legretta and Arietta. He wasn't doing well, either. Anyway, we eventually knocked down Legretta which wasn't easy mind you, but Arietta disappeared in the darkness. Then there was a huge explosion out of nowhere, and well, here I am."

/He's not very good with words, is he? Well, avoiding Legretta's bullets in the dark certainly is a serious accomplishment. Kudos to you three./

"So where is everybody else?" Sync asked nervously.

"The floor caved in from that explosion, I think. So I guess everyone dropped down to the first floor. I doubt Legretta going to be out for long, in fact, she's probably up and at 'em already."

/I bet the building's structure has been compromised. We shouldn't spend more time in here than we have to./

Luke stood up and stretched. He began to roll his shoulder slowly and then said, "Hey, my shoulder is back in place! You have a real knack for this healing thing, don't you, Asch?"

Asch muttered an insincere thank you, and then looked over to Sync. He had no chance of escaping, especially if Legretta had left him for dead.

"Do you want to come with us?" Asch asked.

Luke looked at Asch anxiously again but didn't speak up. After a few moments of silence, Sync finally acknowledged his question.

"I'm just dead weight if I can't get up." Sync eventually answered.

/I'll take that as a yes./

Asch sighed and reached out to the bullet wound in his leg.

"You're gonna pass out, Asch!" Luke yelled.

"No, I won't, not again." Asch responded through gritted teeth.

* * *

"If he has enough strength to cure us both, then why can't he walk?" Sync asked as they began to race down the stairs.

"He really doesn't have the strength to do either. I don't understand it myself." Luke responded quietly.

/It feels weird to be on Sync's side once again./

"My ankle is broken, plus, my left leg was basically torn apart which makes it a little difficult to walk. I could walk if I wanted to, it'd just be a lot slower. " Asch added weakly.

/He's trying to defend himself for being weak, as if we're going to judge him for it. I can't believe he's still conscious in the first place. We make fun of him a lot, but he's probably stronger than the rest of us./

They eventually reached the bottom of the stairs and Sync forced open the last jammed door. The entire first floor was a mess of smoke and dust. Luke assumed the battle had been carried off to the far end of the room due to the clamor on that side.

"How many people died here?" Asch asked horrified.

"What are you talking about?" Sync and Luke said in unison.

/Now that he mentions it, the room does smell metallic like the scent of blood. But I don't see any dead bodies. I wonder if the gas can make someone hallucinate if you're sensitive enough to it. Anise told me that once, I think, back when she worked for the Order of Lorelei./

"Sync, will you stay with Asch? I need to go help out Guy and Jade so we can get out of here." Luke asked.

"Sure, sure. Just hurry up, alright?" Sync said as he took Asch and propped him up against a wall.

* * *

/Blood.. there's blood everywhere../

Asch could feel himself trembling, in fact, he didn't even feel as if he was in his own body anymore. The entire room was black, except for the rays of moonlight seeping in through the holes in the walls. Everything else was covered in shadows, and yet he knew exactly what the room looked like.

"Asch, calm down, alright? It's fine." Sync said assuredly and then put his arm around Asch's hunched up shoulders.

/He can't see it, can he? No one can. What happens when the lights come back on?/

"The lights are on in all the buildings surrounding us, isn't that weird? And the moonlight is seeping in through the holes in all the floors from them caving in. Actually, the whole east side of the building is basically gone."

Sync was talking more to himself than anyone else.

"Asch?"

/Why am I so paranoid? It must be something in the air. That's it, once I get some fresh air I'll stop hallucinating. This is all just a bad dream. Just a bad dream./

Suddenly, blinding lights overtook the entire building. The lights that hadn't been crushed under the rubble or shorted out by the walls crumbling were set ablaze with light.

/No.../

The shadows in the room couldn't hide anymore and slowly escaped into the cracks in the walls along with the clouds of smoke. The absence of shadows revealed spatters of red across fallen walls and ceilings.

/This is so much worse than I thought.../

The carpet and rugs were drenched in blood, and the walls looked splatter-painted with fresh, red paint. Most of the upper floors had collapsed, crushing all the rooms on the lower floors and creating one large pile of debris on the left side of the building.

/Half of the entire building is gone./

He could see the bodies from beneath the destruction, all distorted and mangled within the piles of rubble. New streams of blood were trickling down through the cracks in the fallen drywall and began pooling up on the floor the way rain water builds up after a storm.

"There were people staying at this hotel, weren't there?" Sync breathed as he looked out into the large space.

Asch took one look before he leaned over and heaved up whatever was left inside of him.

/Corpses... they're everywhere. Most of them aren't even whole. And the blood is strewn everywhere: the carpets, the ceiling, the walls._ Everything is painted red_./

"How did you know about this?" Sync asked frantically, but his voice sounded a million miles away.

/They're talking; their memories haven't left this place. They want to know why they died; they want to know why their children had to die. So many ghosts all bound to the same place, and it's all my fault, isn't it? None of this would have happened if I hadn't been here. I used to be able to stomach this kind of gore back on the battlefield, but these aren't soldiers. These were regular people./

The room was spinning again, along with his head. He couldn't think or even breathe; his entire body felt like it was crashing in waves of pain. Suddenly, he realized he'd fallen on the ground and was laying on his side. He tried to desperately pull himself back up, but his arms felt flimsy and it was impossible to tell which way was up from the spiraling motion behind his eyes.

/Get a hold of yourself! You can't lose it here!/

Painfully, he lifted his head off the ground and used both arms to bring himself to a sitting position. He brought his hand up to brush his hair out of his face but soon realized it was covered in blood.

/This isn't my blood, is it?/

He took a second glance at the floor around him and realized it was coated in a sticky maroon color.

/I have to get out of here. But where the hell is Sync?/

He looked over to his left to where Sync had been, but instead there was just the body of a child. Asch quickly averted his eyes and tried not to gag at the bloody remains.

Another explosion went off, causing even more of the building to collapse on the north-eastern side, near the elevator. He braced himself against the wall and tried to head in the direction of the doors which had long-since collapsed. The destroyed doorway created a nearby escape route.

/I can't see a thing with all this dust and remnants of smoke; I hope the other three can get out./

* * *

/I think I'm going to be sick./

Luke looked around the bloody room and felt himself drop his weapon to the ground.

/It's just like Akzeriuth, isn't it?/

"Get a hold of yourself, Luke!" Guy shouted as he deflected a bullet headed straight for Luke's head with his sword.

He shook his head quickly and grabbed his sword off the floor.

/Apparently Jade told him to bring an extra sword along./

"If you two are here, where's Asch?" Jade called out while kicking one of Arietta's monsters aside.

"Sync's with him!" Luke replied and made a swing for Legretta before she disappeared back into the cloud of smoke.

She let out a grunt as if he'd actually landed a solid hit, but the bullets continued to shoot out from nowhere.

"Are you kidding me? You trusted someone who tried to kill you last night with Asch, who is defenseless?" Jade sounded angry, and he took out his rage on Arietta with a strong fire arte.

She let out a horrible scream and fell to the floor.

"Luke, go after him, now!" Jade roared again as he fought off the monsters trying to protect Arietta.

Luke glanced over at Guy who nodded reassuringly, and then Guy jumped back into the fray.

/As long as Arietta and Legretta are the only two enemies here, they'll be fine. They have to be fine. Meanwhile, where the hell did Asch go?/

Luke traced his steps back to the foot of the stairs where he'd left Asch and Sync, but there was no one there. The lights began to flicker until they turned off again and seriously put a damper on his search.

/Maybe they escaped already... The room is almost cleared up from smoke, but it's a lot harder to find them with the lights off. There's a full moon out though, which is almost as bright as the hotel lights./

He began to walk back over to Jade and Guy to help finish the god generals off, but stopped when he heard a low mumbling.

/Is someone talking?/

"You sure are living up to your name as Asch the Bloody, aren't you?"

The voice wasn't much louder than a whisper, but he knew that cocky tone anywhere.

/That's Sync's voice! It's really nearby, too!/

Luke ran off in the direction of the noise and saw the pair together. There was rubble blocking off most viewpoints into the little cubby, which is probably why Luke hadn't seen them earlier. However, since the ceiling had completely crumbled away, the entire floor was bathed in soft moonlight.

A loud crash shook the building and more of the floors began to collapse, along with the ones around the pair. It destroyed their hiding place and left them vulnerable to the ribbons of moonlight.

/Wait.../

"Don't move!" Sync shouted menacingly in his direction.

Luke stopped walking as if Sync was trying to warn him of falling rubble.

/What's going on?/

He got a better look over at the two and realized Asch and Sync weren't hiding; they were fighting with each other. Sync had pulled Asch up against the wall by his hair and had his other hand wrapped around his neck.

"Asch!" Luke screamed and took another step forward.

Asch was desperately scratching against Sync's hand around his neck with his own but it was no use; he was too weak.

"Don't come any closer!" Sync yelled back.

Asch began twist and turn to kick his legs out, but Sync sharply elbowed him in the stomach and he quickly stopped struggling.

/When did Sync get so strong? I can't believe he tricked us. I'm such an idiot! A stupid, stupid idiot! How could I have let this happen?/

"What are you doing, Sync?" Luke yelled.

"It's all over if I kill him. No one will have to die after this. Van can't win," Sync paused and looked over at Asch, "if he dies right now."

/He's not on the god generals side, not even Van's side. He's trying to fix things his way, but this isn't the way to do it!/

Sync's voice was cracking and sounded weak. Sync obviously didn't want to do this, but he probably didn't expect to make it out of this building alive anyway.

Luke looked over and saw that all the fighting had stopped. Arietta was defeated and looked unconscious on the ground, while Legretta had Guy at gunpoint. She wasn't even looking over at him; instead, she was focused on Sync.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Legretta yelled over to Sync.

Guy took this opportunity to escape from Legretta and made his way over to where Luke was.

Luke didn't pay him any attention, and watched horrified as Asch's struggles grew weaker and weaker. Instead of trying to pry Sync's hand off his throat with furious clawing, he'd resorted back to weak kicking.

/Did he just bite him?/

Sync winced and angrily kicked him in the stomach this time, causing Asch to stop fighting altogether.

"You're killing him!" Arrietta screamed from afar, even though she couldn't pull herself off the ground to help.

"Sync, stand down!" Legretta yelled and pointed her gun at him.

/Why doesn't she just shoot him? Wait, Legretta only has only has one gun. She must have dropped the other one somewhere./

Luke looked around at the ground and saw the metallic weapon glisten in the moonlight near Guy's foot. He lunged for it and then quickly fumbled to find the trigger. His hands were shaking too much to even hold the gun straight, and it shuddered even more violently when he held it out in front of him.

"Luke..." Guy said nervously.

/I can't shoot someone, but I have to, don't I? Asch is a lot more important than my fear. I have to shoot Sync. What if I miss?/

"Someone, anyone, please just shoot him already!" Jade cried out.

Two gunshots rang out in the silence of the building, and filled the air with a buzzing tension. No one moved for a few moments, until both Asch and Sync fell to the floor. Luke dropped the gun from his trembling hand and ran over there. There was blood pumping in his ears along with a loud ringing sensation from the gunshots.

/Did I really just...?/

He reached the two bodies before everyone else and saw that Sync's eyes were still open.

"You're making a big mistake," Sync said weakly.

There was blood seeping out from his uniform, but Luke couldn't tell where he got shot. Asch was over to his right and had not so gracefully fallen into a pile of rubble. He was coughing violently as air rushed back into his body all at once, but still couldn't pull himself out of the debris.

Luke hooked his arms around Asch's shoulders and pulled him out from the area and away from Sync, only to find Legretta's gun barrel against his head.

"Put him down," She said shakily, obviously trying to hide her emotions.

Luke looked up into her eyes and saw the sadness and desperation she tried to hide from her voice hidden there. Her lip was trembling and her glassy eyes betrayed her strong stance.

/She didn't want to shoot him at all, did she? She must have shot him earlier to protect him from getting killed. In fact, she probably knew they were going to lose in the first place. It was her own attempt to save him from this inevitable fate./

"I said, put him-" She stopped and her eyes widened.

Suddenly, she heaved forward and fell to the ground with a loud thud, leaving Guy where she had stood. He had his sword turned backward and had slammed the heel of his blade into the back of her head, knocking her out.

"You idiot," Asch said weakly from below.

"Asch! I'm so glad you're-" Luke stopped.

/He is bleeding everywhere. What happened?/

"You idiot," he repeated and winced in pain before he could finish his sentence.

"You shot me."


	10. Cruise Blues

"You'd think he'd be awake after a whole-"

"Guy, shut up!"

"Ow! You didn't have to elbow me..."

/I wish they'd both just shut up./

Asch pulled a pillow over his head and kept his eyes tightly shut. The sunlight seeping in through the window tried to wake him up by burning his eyes until he eventually moved. He let out an angry groan and tried to hide his face in the sheets instead.

/My head is throbbing and my insides feel like they've been turned inside out./

"Asch! You're awake!"

He didn't respond to Luke, but he did peek his head out from under the pillow to glare at him. Guy was nervously standing next to him, and Jade was in a chair reading a book nearby. The room was pretty small with two bunk beds and a dresser, but he assumed Guy and Jade were staying in another room.

/The windows.. they're port windows, like on a ship. Wait, where are we right now?/

Slowly the memories started to catch up with him, and he realized that he honestly had no clue how he'd gotten here. The rocking of the ship caught up with him too, causing his stomach to turn over.

/I've always been seasick; this is why I avoid boats./

Asch sat up in the bed and tried not to gag. He looked around at everyone and realized that no one seemed to want to make eye contact, especially Luke.

"Well?" Asch muttered while raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be shy, Guy, tell him what happened. He doesn't bite. Oh wait, nevermind, _he does_." Jade smirked sarcastically.

/I'm going to get him for that one./

Guy cleared his throat a couple of times and said, "Well, I mean, Sync was trying to kill you, right, and-"

Asch rolled his eyes and snapped, "I'm not looking for a recap, I just need to know what happened afterward. Wait,"

He stopped talking and looked down at his stomach. There was an abundance of medical tape and gauze like usual, although most of it had a pink and reddish hue.

/I didn't even feel the pain when I woke up. What the hell did Jade do to me?/

"Oh, yeah! Jade got the bullet out and everything! Apparently the ships doctors had some spare antiseptic and pain killers, which is probably why you're not crying in pain now. I'd probably take more soon 'cause once those wear off it's gonna be nasty. I think Jade should have stuck to being a doctor rather than an evil fonist; he certainly is a lot better at it." Guy added with a smile.

"Don't flatter me, Guy. If the shooter had been an expert marksman," Jade looked over at Luke," Asch would've been a goner. But all's well that ends well!"

"Asch, I-" Luke began to start a long-winded apology, but Asch stopped him.

"I don't want to hear it, Luke. You and Legretta fired your guns off at the same time; it's impossible to say who hit who." Asch replied stone-faced.

"It doesn't take an idiot to figure out who shot who." Guy muttered.

"Wait, what happened to Sync?" Asch asked while ignoring Guy's comment.

"Ah, believe it or not, when I had my men go back to search for bodies, his didn't come up. I looked at the wound Legretta's bullet inflicted on Sync before we left, and it wasn't up to her usual par. She didn't hit any vital organs or nerves, but I think she planned on that. I wouldn't doubt he's still alive, but whether or not they'll keep a traitor alive is the question." Jade said.

"I thought we didn't know who shot Sync, remember Jade?" Guy said in a mimicking tone.

"Oh, right. Well, nevertheless, I don't think we've seen the last of him." Jade replied.

Luke looked over at both of them solemnly and left the room quietly, making sure the door didn't bang shut as he left.

Guy watched him leave but then continued, "Well, anyway, before you passed out you sealed up the wound which Jade said was a bad idea, but you did it anyway. I think it was a good idea, in fact, it prevented you from bleeding to death. I guess it was harder to get the bullet out, though. Whatever, we ended up dragging you all the way to the port and then we secretly got you on board without causing any commotion. That brings us up to the point where you slept for a day and are now angry and awake."

"By sneaking me on board you mean," Asch asked.

"We hid you in a crate and had them bring you on board like luggage? Yes, that's exactly it. Seeing a bloody body after all the explosions up at the hotel would arise too much suspicion, right?" Jade finished as he put down his book.

Guy laughed as Asch scowled over at Jade.

"I understand you haven't eaten in what, 8 days? Not much is going to go down without a fight other than water, but I'm sure we can somewhat build your strength back before we reach our destination. Oh Guy, I'm so parched. Do you think you could get me some water or coffee?" Jade said.

"What a-" Guy stalked off and mumbled various insults over at Jade.

"Now that those two are gone, I'd like to know if you have any further knowledge on Van's intentions."

Asch sighed and leaned back on some pillows that were wadded up in the corner of the bottom bunk.

"You heard as much as I did, didn't you? It's about the same as before, except a lot less noticeable. He's going to kill off all the undesirable people on Auldrant and then replace them with replicas smarter than the ones before. They're going to remember everything but the Score, and their memories won't be built back up into the Planet Storm; their memories are going to dissolve and disappear. It's an interesting idea except for the part about killing everyone." Asch explained while trying to untangle his hair.

/I'm never going to get all these tangles out. It's impossible. My scalp and hair are covered in blood, too, from where Sync pulled my hair so hard. In fact, my entire head feels sore./

"Oh really? That's not what I got from it at all. Besides, you forgot to mention how you fit into all of this. Van's never been one for organization, after all. His last plot was all over the place, which is why it ultimately failed. Maybe Van isn't important at all." Jade said while shrugging his shoulders.

/He's giving me a strange look. What'd I say wrong?/

Guy abruptly walked in and angrily handed Jade some water.

"Is this for me? How thoughtful!" Jade exclaimed and then took a sip.

He began violently coughing and spit the water out on the floor. Jade gave an incredulous look over in Guy's direction.

"That water's fresh, isn't it? The crew helped me grab some right off the side of the boat!" He said while trying to keep a straight face.

/Is he serious? I'm on a boat full of idiots./

"Ah, thanks so much, Guy. I'll be happy to return the favor anytime." Jade said hoarsely while trying not to cough.

"Asch, I actually got you some coffee for your throat, you know? I promise I didn't do anything to it." Guy said when he stopped laughing.

Asch eyed him warily, but after a sip, was extremely thankful for Guy's thoughtfulness. He gave an awkward 'thank you' and then looked over at Jade, who was back to reading his book.

/Is that the same book as before?/

"Asch, it looks like you have a visitor outside your window." Jade called out sarcastically without looking up.

/What?/

* * *

/I think he hates me. No, he has to hate me. Well, he doesn't look angry. But I know he is./

Luke was looking over the bottom of the window frame into the room. Asch looked annoyed, but it was more at Guy and Jade than anyone else.

/Wait, is Jade looking at me?/

He ducked down when he saw everyone look up at the window. After a few moments, Luke slowly peered over the window again only to see Asch's annoyed glance and Guy's sarcastic wave over to him. Luke hid beneath the window yet again, as if he still hadn't been caught.

/Asch's annoyed in his head, but he doesn't seem that angry. He's actually thinking something about seawater? Whatever, I should probably go in there and face his wrath./

He took one more glance into the window and saw that Asch was rubbing his temples and Guy was shaking his head in laughter.

/Now he looks angry./

Luke quickly turned the corner and accidentally bumped into one of the crewmen who wasn't paying attention as he was walking. He was involved in a loud conversation between another worker.

"Sorry," Luke muttered, but the man paid him no mind and continued walking and talking.

"So, did you hear? They're blaming Kimlasca for that attack in Keterburg. Some form of terrorism, or something. Everyone on this ship is trying to get as far away from that hotel, including me..." The man's voice trailed off as he got farther away.

/Kimlasca? No way!/

Luke burst into the room and said, You're not gonna believe this!"

"What is it, Luke?" Guy asked nonchalantly.

"Get off of me!" Asch growled.

Luke looked around and realized that Guy was sitting on top of Asch while pinning his arm back. Guy flashed him a winning smile while Asch was snarling and cursing.

Jade added in, "Guy told him that he'd have to be nice to you, Luke. That's why Asch is so angry."

Luke looked down at the floor dejectedly and muttered, "Oh, really?"

/So he was angry. He must have hidden it from me./

"You idiot," Asch snarled while trying to escape from Guy, "it doesn't even have to do with that! They just told me we're going to Baticul! Why the hell would we even think to go there? I'm getting off this boat right now!"

/That's Asch for you. Always mad about the wrong thing./

Guy pulled Asch's arm a little farther back and chuckled, " So how are you gonna get off the boat, Asch? I'd like to know."

"You can't stay awake forever." He snarled back.

"Guy, get off him. You never know what might break on him next; he's pretty fragile." Jade cooed condescendingly.

Guy gracefully stepped off him, and Asch stood up right after. Obviously, it was a little too fast for him to handle and he faltered a bit, but eventually he was able to clumsily make it to the door.

"Someone better stop him! He's making a run, or rather, a walk for it!" Guy yelled.

Guy went off into a fit of laughter and Luke tried to fight it before he too started giggling at Asch's soured face.

"I'm going to get some air." Asch grumbled and slammed the door shut.

"Oh, no, did we upset him?" Jade asked.

* * *

Luke eventually found Asch near the back of the boat. He was leaning against the railing. His hair was a mess of tangles in the breeze, but he looked peaceful.

"Why are we going to Baticul, Luke?" Asch asked quietly without turning around.

/How'd he know I was here?/

"I guess we have to start somewhere to fix this mess, right? Malkuth is blaming Kimlasca for the attacks in Keterburg, no doubt Van had that planned. Besides, Anise is going to meet us there too, and we'll probably have to have an audience to see Natalia." Luke said as he took leaned against the railing next to Asch.

"Natalia..." Asch said, and then trailed off.

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." Luke said to reassure him.

"Sure is a pretty sunset, isn't it?"

/He's ignoring me. Or maybe he's thinking about too much to notice that I'm talking to him./

The sunset _was_ pretty; It wasn't the generic version with hazy golds and pinks. This sunset was a bright red and orange flame which spread across the water and sky alike. The colors in the ocean seemed to melt into one another, until Luke couldn't tell where the blue stopped and the orange started. The sky faded off into a deep purple and indigo as it got farther away from the glow of the sun, signifying that twilight was closing in.

"Luke, what are we supposed to tell them? They aren't going to believe Van is back, even if they saw him with their own eyes." Asch said.

"Well, the fact that we're going to be there is proof, isn't it?"

He didn't reply and shut his eyes against the salty breeze. It was cooling against the bright sun, creating a perfect mixture of hot and cold against Luke's skin. Although, it wasn't doing wonders for his hair. He was seriously considering cutting it all off again like before; it felt more natural that way.

"You need to do something with this hair of your's before anyone sees it though. It's full of blood and tangles and that can't be healthy." Luke said with a laugh.

"I can just say it's hair dye or something," Asch muttered.

/Hair dye?/

"Asch, I really am sorry. This whole thing wouldn't have happened if I hadn't made so many poor decisions. I didn't mean to shoot you, I really didn't. I was aiming at Sync, but I closed my eyes and missed, I guess." Luke blurted out from nowhere.

"You closed your eyes?" Asch raised an eyebrow and sighed.

/Maybe I shouldn't have said that./

"Whatever, it's my fault, not yours. All those people died because of my choices. And I'm the one who chose to trust Sync, not you."

"Maybe it's nobody's fault. Shit just happens sometimes." Luke replied.

"Shit just happens, huh?"

* * *

"Where have you boys been? It's way past curfew!" Jade said as Luke and Asch tiptoed back into the cabin.

/It's not even past ten, but it is pitch black outside./

"We've been busy, old man." Asch muttered.

"Well, in any case, I need to change those bandages." Jade replied.

"I'm taking a shower first. I have to get all this stuff out of my hair." Asch replied and stalked off.

/My ankle is still broken, which makes it so hard to walk without limping./

"I'll be waiting!" Jade said enthusiastically.

It took him a good hour to wash out all the gunk from his hair and recondition it back to its original state. As he was getting redressed, he could hear Luke shouting on the other side of the door while Guy was laughing.

/They're having too much fun for people who just saw hundreds of corpses. Maybe this is their way of dealing with it though./

Getting redressed was when Asch noticed his wounds the most. His ankle was still beyond repair, as was his left calf. He wrapped them both up before he left so Jade wouldn't have to bother with it. There was a large gash on the side of his hip down to the middle of his thigh that he didn't remember acquiring, but decided not to tell Jade about that one.

/As long as I put antiseptic on it, it'll be fine./

There were cuts and scrapes and stitches all over his stomach, along with black and yellow bruises from where Sync had knee'd him.

/He landed his elbow right into my broken rib, too. That can't be good for it./

Asch left his shirt off since Jade would have to mess with all the wounds across his abdomen and walked over to the mirror. His cheekbones looked sunken in and there was a deep scratch on his forehead, not to mention the black circles under his eyes. He looked as if he'd rubbed dirt all under his eyes and resembled a skeleton altogether.

/I haven't looked into a mirror in.. Well, not in this lifetime. That's probably a good thing because of how hideous I look. Forget replicas, I look like zombie straight out of the grave./

Suddenly he noticed the ring of black all along his neck. He licked his finger to try to wipe it off, but shuddered in pain when he touched his neck.

/This isn't dirt.. it's a line of bruises./

He lifted his head and saw there was a giant bruise wrapping around his neck, leaving trails of black, purple, and yellow in fingerlike stripes.

/You can see the imprint of his hand matches where the bruises are. No one's noticed yet because my shirt collar is so high./

"You almost done in there, beauty queen?" Guy called out from the other side.

"Sure." Asch hoarsely muttered back and slipped on his shirt.

/I'm sure Jade has already noticed by now; he picks up on those kinds of things. Maybe if I can make Luke and Guy leave, they won't notice./

He fixed his shirt and saw how the collar perfectly aligned with the bruises, leaving no trace of them when his shirt was on.

/At least Natalia won't notice, that's for sure./

He walked out of the bathroom while wringing out his hair and saw that Luke and Guy were wrestling on the floor.

"You shouldn't have put your shirt on when you're just going to have to take it off." Jade said as he pulled out supplies from a cabinet.

/Luke and Guy don't seem to be paying attention./

He slowly slipped off his shirt and pulled his wet hair in front of his neck to block some of the bruising, although the worst of it was straight in the middle of his neck. He sat down on the edge of the bed facing away from the pair and winced as Jade forcefully rubbed alcohol into a wound on his back.

"Your neck doesn't look too good, does it, Asch?" Jade murmured in a low voice.

/Of course he has to bring it up./

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really? I think you figured it out a few minutes ago, which is probably why you were in there so long. Mirrors are unfriendly things, to say the least." Jade muttered thoughtfully.

"I don't need your opinion." Asch replied bitterly.

He arched his back in pain when Jade pressed on one of his ribs, and turned around to glare.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that was broken. I'll be more careful next time."

"Bastard!"

Asch cursed loudly, drawing the attention of the two boys on the ground. He quickly turned around so they couldn't see his face.

"Stop picking on Asch, Jade." Luke said as he stood up and stretched.

"You're right. It's so nice of you to stick your neck out for Asch, Luke." Jade replied.

Asch groaned at the horrible pun, but didn't say anything. Jade gave him a big pat on the back for good measure.

"Alright, time to turn around so I can take out the stitches on one of those nasty cuts."

/He's doing this on purpose./

Asch pushed his hair in front of his neck and turned around to find that Guy and Luke weren't paying too much attention.

"Luke, would you mind holding Asch's hair back so I can get at these stitches?"

Jade gave a curt smile over to Asch, whose eyes were burning with rage.

"Jade," Asch growled.

**"**Oh, yeah, I've got it." Luke waltzed over and began gathering up all the wet strands.

"You sure have a lot of hair, don't-" Luke stopped mid sentence and let go of Asch's hair.

"Oh no, this is all my fault, isn't it?" Jade said.

Luke didn't say anything, he just leaned his head in to get a better look. He traced one of the lines of indigo discoloration and then looked back up at Asch. Asch bit his lip and didn't look back at him.

"You look like hell, Asch! Is that all from Sync?" Guy shouted from afar as he just noticed.

/Who else, you idiot?/

"It's fine. They're just bruises." Asch muttered.

Luke didn't say anything, he just kept looking at the wounds. He eventually poked one lightly, but Asch shuddered and slapped his hand away.

"Oh, I'm sorry. But Asch..." Luke wasn't talking any higher than a whisper.

"Are you happy now?" Asch said as he glared off down at Jade, who was picking at his stitches.

"Luke, if you would."

He snapped out of his trace and picked up all of Asch's hair daintily, not wanting to pull at his scalp anymore than he needed to. Guy left the room without telling anyone, obviously knowing when he wasn't needed.

/I probably should say something./

"Don't worry about it, okay? It doesn't hurt as long as no one touches me, and I don't turn my head too fast. Besides, my collar covers it completely, so you won't have to look at it." Asch said cheerfully.

"I know you know how bad that looks, Asch. How come you're the only one getting hurt?" Luke muttered as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Yes, you seem to be picking up injuries like souvenirs." Jade added thoughtfully while pulling out the last stitch.

Asch winced and continued, "That's not true Luke, I've healed plenty of your wounds. It's just harder for me to operate on myself because I might pass out or run out of energy, you know?"

"You do that anyway. For anyone but yourself, that is." Luke muttered.

/He's right, but what am I supposed to do? I only do it out of necessity in the first place./

"All done! You're all patched up and ready to go! I'm going to excuse myself to go walk around the deck." Jade said and abruptly left.

/Oh, great./

"You're right, Luke."

Luke let go of his hair and moved to where Jade was sitting.

"Right about what?"

/I can't be limping around town all day tomorrow, I guess./

Asch daintily pulled off his shoe and said, "You've got me, right?"

* * *

Luke still didn't understand and gave an unsure _okay_ in response.

Seventh fonons began to race out of both of Asch's hands and wrapped themselves around his ankle in a green haze.

"Don't overdo it, Asch!" Luke said.

/It's brighter than it's ever been before. He's been getting a lot better at it, I wonder if that's why./

Instead of the light seeping into the wound the way it does for cuts and incisions, it circled around his ankle in a neon yellow flurry. He watched as Asch's foot slowly began to straighten out and the muscles in his legs tensed. A loud click signified that the bone set back in place, and the light slowly faded away. The cabin slowly reverted to it's dark state, and Luke managed to reach out and grab Asch before he fell off the bed.

"That was amazing! Is it completely healed?"

Luke watched as he slowly rolled his ankle. After a few minutes of him breathing heavily, he pulled himself up.

"It'll be sore, but not broken. Now, if I just fix the wound in my other leg, I might be able to run!" Asch said excitedly.

His glistening eyes had taken on a dreamy green color, like a kid on his birthday. It was a look Luke had never seen Asch have, in fact, he seemed a lot more open than he'd ever been before.

/I'll never take running for granted again. I can't imagine what it's like to be barely able to walk. Although, if I was in his place, I wouldn't be able to walk at all./

"Maybe you should wait, Asch. I don't want you to-"

/Too late./

The swirling, green light overtook the room again. It was oddly comforting, even though it wasn't meant for him. Luke glanced around him and his hair and clothes were floating upward, as if they were suspended from the ceiling. His skin looked glittery from the light reflecting off of Asch's hands, and everything in the room had a green hue.

Asch's hair was floating too, although the way the light was positioned revealed the hidden shadows within his face and the ones that lined his ribcage. It was easy to tell how skinny he'd gotten with the way his clothes were pressed against his chest.

/I'm going to make him eat everything Natalia cooks tomorrow, I swear. Even if it tastes bad, he wouldn't dare throw it up in front of her./

Asch seemed to be having much more trouble than the first time, and had a pained look on his face. His eyebrow was twitching and he was scowling, even though the light stayed constant.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

The room was dead silent, except Luke thought he heard a faint melody from within the ribbons of light.

/The seventh fonon is the fonon of sound, isn't it? I guess when it's concentrated enough you can hear it. That's pretty cool!/

Asch finally opened his eyes and replied, "Lots of glass is still stuck in there. It's hard to work around."

"Well how do you get it out?" Luke asked.

/This melody is a lot creepier and colder than Tear's was, but it sounds beautiful all the same. It's also more refined than hers though, and Asch's reminds me of an old lullaby. Maybe everyone's is different./

Asch didn't reply, he just shut his eyes and began to breathe heavily. Luke watched as the wound began to slowly close itself like a jacket zipping up. The light slowly began to fade away and Asch relaxed his tensed up shoulders. His clothing and hair fell back to their original place, and so did Asch's.

Luke reached out and caught the front of Asch's shirt before he fell and dragged him back to the safety of the bed. His breath was ragged and he was holding his forehead, but at least he was awake.

"Painkillers," Asch whispered without looking up.

Luke reached for the little cabinet next the bed and handed the bottle to Asch. He took a couple before Luke took the bottle back and propped Asch's head up with a pillow.

"That was so cool, Asch! Did you hear that melody, or was it just me?"

Asch opened an eye and looked over at him, but didn't say anything.

"You have to dissolve it, the glass." Asch murmured.

"What?" Luke asked.

"To get rid of the glass. You either have to pick it out manually, or you can dissolve it, or you can even turn it into a gas. You just have to break down the components so that they don't stay in your leg. So you take another fonon, like the fifth, and heat the glass up until it's a gas, and then it will dissipate. But that brings up other problems, like not burning the skin. So you have to cool the skin around it with another fonon, and it just ends up as a lot of work." Asch replied in a long-winded response.

/Does he really want to change the subject that badly?/

"Well, are you going to be fine?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, sure. Meanwhile, a pair of red eyes have stalked us this entire time." Asch muttered.

Luke looked over to the window and saw no one there.

"You just missed him. I don't trust that necromancer one bit." Asch murmured but soon drifted off near the end of his sentence.

Luke looked over and saw that he'd fallen asleep with one arm over his eyes and the over lazily draped over his stomach.

/I wonder if he's asleep or unconscious. Is there really a difference for Asch?/

He pulled out the covers and haphazardly threw them over Asch so that he wouldn't get cold.

/He is usually so guarded while he sleeps, but right now he looks like a little kid without a care in the world./

* * *

Luke left the cabin quietly, but just as he was shutting the door he bumped into Jade.

"Jade? You need to learn how to not sneak up on people!" He said alarmed.

"Maybe so. I have a favor to ask." Jade replied.

/His tone sounds serious./

"What is it?" Luke asked nervously.

"Make sure to keep a close eye on Asch tomorrow. He's in for a serious shock, and I wouldn't doubt he's going to disappear if no one stops him. It's extremely important that you stay with him. Got it?" Jade said intently.

/There's not a bit of humor in his eyes. I wonder what's going on?/

"Sure, I'm always with him anyway. But what's going to happen?"

"Goodnight Luke, sleep tight!" Jade replied and gave a wave over his back as he walked away.


	11. A Series of Unfortunate Events

"Why do we have to enter Baticul so early, Jade? The sun hasn't even come up!" Guy said through a yawn.

The ferry they'd taken was headed for Belkend and they were the only passengers who'd left the ship at Baticul. It was five in the morning, after all.

"Well, we can't have people recognizing these two, and Anise should be here anytime now."

Luke looked over at Asch who was walking slowly behind the group and was spaced out. His skin was pale and his trudging steps hinted at how much he hated being in this city. He kept looking around warily, almost as if he expected someone to pop out of the walls.

"We haven't even left the port yet, Asch, and you're already on edge. It's going to be fine, you know?" Luke murmured over to him.

Asch looked over to him and blinked a couple of times. He shook his head as if to wake himself up and replied, "You're right. I'm just tired."

They all hopped aboard the cable car and began to ride up slowly into the lower levels of the city. Of course, the operator didn't even ask for ID when Guy gave her a sweet smile and a few compliments.

"How can you be so smooth when you can't even get near ladies?" Luke muttered.

"I've gotten a lot better, Luke. Two years can really change a man." Guy said while winking.

Luke looked over and saw that Asch was adjusting his collar in the window's reflection while grimacing. He slowly traced a scar on his forehead and then tried to wipe something off the side of his face only to find it to be another bruise.

"C'mon you two! We have to get going!" Guy called out from the platform in front of the cable car.

/When did we make it to the top?/

"Asch, we're leaving." Luke said.

Asch slowly looked over at him for a few moments before eventually stepping off the cable car after him.

/I've never seen him like this. Even worse, I'm worried about what Jade said to me./

"What'd Jade say?" Asch asked politely from behind him.

"Ah, well, it's nothing!" Luke stammered before he ran to catch up with Guy.

"Hey, wait a second!" Guy swiveled around and looked over at Asch.

"Since when can you walk?"

/Jade didn't question it, so I guess Asch was right. He was watching us last night./

"Since right now. I'm fine." Asch replied coldly.

"Geez," Guy muttered before they continued on.

"So when's Anise supposed to-" Luke said, before being cut short.

"You-" a voice called out from behind him.

/Oh no./

"Big-" the voice got louder.

/I've lived a nice life./

"MEANIE!" the voice shouted.

Anise came out of nowhere and tackled Luke to the ground in an angry rage. She started to pound on his chest and cursed loudly while Luke protected his face from her wild hits.

"Good morning, Anise." Jade said.

"How could you! You just disappear for two years and expect everyone to be okay with it? What, were you and Tear on a honeymoon?" Anise said with tears in her eyes.

"Tear? What? Is she missing too?" Luke asked while trying to push Anise off of him.

"That's not the point! Are you not even gonna say hi to me? Are you not even going to ask me how I've been? Where the hell have you been? How could-" Anise broke off into hysterics while grabbing his shirt.

/I have no idea what to say, I mean, it's not like I meant to disappear./

"I'm sorry." He said in a weak response.

"You don't even know what sorry is!" Anise wailed.

"Please don't cry anymore, Anise. Just be happy that he's back." Guy said hoping to calm her down.

"I'm not crying! And you-" she glared over in Asch's direction.

"We all thought you were dead! How dare you do that to Natalia!" Anise said as she hopped off Luke and pointed her finger at Asch.

"I was dead." Asch muttered, but Jade spoke loud enough so that Anise couldn't hear him.

"We all just thought he was dead. Gingi managed to save him, right Asch?" Jade said while narrowing his eyes at Asch.

"Yeah, whatever." Asch said while scowling.

/Anise is going to find out someday about what happened to us both. Why's he hiding it now?/

Anise took a moment to look around at everyone before she spoke up again.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Coronel? I'm sorry, Luke, by the way." She said while looking over at him.

"I'd be pretty mad too, I guess." Luke said while dusting off all the dirt on his clothes.

"I've only known for a couple of days myself. We have a schedule to keep, Anise, so would you mind accompanying us all the way to house Fabre so I can catch you up to speed?" Jade replied while beckoning her to hop aboard the elevator.

"House Fabre?" Luke and Asch said in unison.

"You can't expect to wear those clothes to an audience with the princess, can you? Besides, I've heard that Susanne has fallen ill since your disappearance, Luke."

* * *

"I can't believe my two boys have come back to me! You two don't know how much I've missed you! What have you both been doing for two whole years? No, I don't want to know. I'm just happy that your back."

/It's a good thing she doesn't want to know, because I don't have an answer. Jade seems to want us to keep quiet about the matter./

Susanne was crying while holding them both in one, big hug over the sides of her bed. Luke embraced it while Asch was bent over awkwardly beneath her arm.

"Oh, you two must be hungry. Asch, dear, you look as thin as a rail. I'm sure the cooks have something planned already, but I'm going to have them cook all your favorites instead." Susanne said.

When Asch and Luke didn't reply, she continued, "Your father isn't here, I'm afraid. But I'll send someone to tell him the good news."

"Well, actually-" Asch said as he began to come up with an excuse, but Luke cut him off.

"Sounds great! We just need to have a quick audience with Natalia and I'm sure we'll be home before dinner. Right, Asch?" Luke said cheerfully while looking over at Asch.

/It's already mid-afternoon; when did it get so late?/

"Right, sure." He muttered.

"I'm going to go pick out some finer clothes from my room, alright?" Luke said as he raced off.

Asch was walking out and shutting the door, but before he closed it, Susanne spoke up.

"Asch, dear, I'm really glad you've come home."

He winced and shut the door without saying anything back.

* * *

"What do you want to wear?" Luke asked while sorting through his closet.

/None of it's going to fit me./

"How about this?" Luke said while holding up some black dress clothes.

/The collar isn't high enough and it is way too big./

"No." He replied curtly.

Luke eyed him before he got the mental message and put it back on the hanger.

"Here let me pick." He said while walking over to the wardrobe.

After a few moment of sorting through Luke's bad taste, he finally picked up a plain white outfit with black trim.

"You know, that never fit me when mother bought it." Luke said thoughtfully while rubbing his chin.

/The collar is pretty high, and it's a lot smaller than the rest of Luke's clothes. Besides, everything else is so gaudy; I don't know how he could have such awful taste. This is probably as good as it's going to get./

"Then it's perfect." Asch muttered.

"It's so plain though." Luke replied sourly.

"Even more the reason to wear it."

* * *

As they were walking into the main hall of the manor, where the exit was located, they found Guy and Jade waiting for them near the entrance. Anise was nowhere to be found, although Luke assumed she was probably running an errand for Jade.

"Hey, where's Anise-" Luke began.

Out of nowhere, a shrill voice rang out through the entire building and shook the glass windows. The sleepy guards jumped from they're slumped positions and straightened their posture, while all the maids pulled themselves off the floor and straightened their clothes from shock. Jade and Guy looked at each other in surprise before smiling over at Luke.

Asch's face was even more pale than before, and he looked over at Luke who gave him a reassuring smile and pat on the back.

/Apparently we don't need an audience to see her./

Asch cleared his throat and said, "Maybe we should come back later and-"

"No, Asch."

"But-"

Luke and Guy hooked their arms around his and dragged him through the double doors into the drawing-room.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Asch snarled.

They both let go and Asch brushed himself off before glaring at them both.

"You have to face her sometime. Of all the women I've met, she's still by far the scariest. But putting her off would be an even worse fate than just dealing with her now," Guy said with a sigh.

"It sounds like she's in Susanne's room. I bet she came over when she found out mother was well again." Luke replied.

"But if she's talked to Susanne, then-" Asch's voice was trembling as he put two and two together.

Natalia suddenly burst through the double doors on the other side of the room. She was wearing her favorite blue evening dress and a lace headband, although her bright red face clashed with the outfit.

/She doesn't look happy to see us./

She glared at them both for a few moments without saying a word or moving a muscle. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated at the last moment.

Suddenly she covered her mouth with her hands and broke down into tears. She fell to her knees while still staring at them both and eventually collapsed all the way down to the floor.

/What do we do?/

Asch and Luke looked over at each other with alarmed glances. Guy gave Asch a push forward and nodded his head when Asch looked back at him nervously.

"Natalia, I-" Asch said hoarsely before she cut him off.

She pulled her face out of her hands and whispered, "Why?"

Luke spoke up this time and said," Natalia, Asch didn't mean to-"

"Why now?" She wailed, still collapsed on the floor.

"I have a fiancé, Asch!" She said through sobs.

/Jade is such a bastard for not telling me!/

"And I love him, and then you just show up and-" She broke off into sobs again.

"A fiancé?" Luke whispered and then looked over at Guy.

/There's no way he didn't know./

Guy didn't make eye contact with Luke and stared at the floor. He looked just as upset as Luke felt, but there was obviously a reason he didn't say anything.

/I wonder if Jade made him keep quiet, or if it was just that he couldn't bear to tell Asch./

Luke was afraid to look over at Asch, whose horrible thoughts were already clashing with Luke's. Asch's hands were balled up into fists and he had his eyes fixed on the floor as if he couldn't look over at Natalia without collapsing, too.

"He's such a great guy, you know? He was there when I cried over you; he was there for your funeral and Luke's too. He stayed with me through it all when you weren't there for me!" She yelled while wiping her eyes and continued on.

"He helped me realize how to keep living, how to move on when someone you love dies, and yet-"

/She really did love Asch. And he did, too./

Asch was as pale as his coat and his eyes had a distant, glassy look to them. He seemed frozen in place, unable to speak or even blink. The only way Luke could tell he was awake was the way he was biting his lip to keep it from trembling.

"You just walk in here pretending like you just left on vacation, pretending like everything is fine, when you left me here sobbing over you! You left me here all alone, Asch, to pick up the pieces of my shattered life."

Guy tried to cut in and whispered, "It's not his fault, Natalia."

"You left me here all alone, wondering what I did to deserve this." She whimpered while completely ignoring Guy.

She broke off into sobs again and covered her face in her hands.

"I'm," Asch stopped and turned to look away from her.

He stumbled over to the door and continued, "I'm so sorry, Natalia."

The door shut silently behind him with a dull click and left the room silent except for Natalia's sobs.

"Asch, wait!" Luke called out, but he didn't come back.

/He's completely blocked off from me; the connection between us is dead. No, dead is an understatement./

Luke raced over to the door to go follow him, but Natalia cried out, "Don't you leave, Luke! Don't leave me here all alone again!"

He stopped with his hand on the handle, and then looked over to Natalia, who's face was red and puffy from crying. She had a look of desperation in her eyes that seemed to plead for his company more than her words did.

/I have to go after him! But leaving Natalia here would be the cruelest thing to do. Jade will stop Asch, I'm sure./

He slowly walked over to Natalia and sat on the floor next to her. She sobbed even louder and threw her arms around Luke.

Guy walked over and winced before rubbing her shoulder lightly. Neither of them said anything, but they helped wipe the tears dripping down her face and tried to comfort her.

"Why, Luke?" She said sobbing into his chest while gripping tightly to his clothes.

"Why?"

* * *

Asch couldn't think: he couldn't breathe, or talk, or speak. Air seemed to snake into his lungs in pained gasps and couldn't find it's way out. Somehow his feet kept working and led him out of the door and through the main hall.

Jade was calling out to him, along with Anise, but he couldn't hear them over the blood pounding in his ears. He brushed past them both with his head down and flew out the door and down the steps in front of the manor. It was dark outside, and it looked as if the sun had just fallen beneath the horizon.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see it was Jade with a concerned look on his face. Jade's mouth was moving, but he couldn't hear a word he was saying. Asch took his hand off his shoulder and continued to walk away, only to find that Jade was grabbing on the back of his shirt.

Jade was yelling at him now, or at least he assumed from his angry disposition, but Asch slipped out of his grasp and started running. He knew Jade was following him, but he eventually lost him after the elevator and a few twisting alleyways. He knew this city a lot better than Jade, no matter how smart he was.

Eventually Asch came across a lonely bench with a street light flickering to illuminate the space that was hidden in the night.

He slowly sat down and noticed how cold it was in Baticul this time of the year. He shouldn't be out here, not in this weather, but he didn't care. He brought his knees up on the bench and ducked his head into his knees to hide his face.

/Maybe I can freeze to death and this can all be over./

Natalia's words kept replaying in his head and seemed to become louder and louder. He couldn't make the pounding in his head stop; it didn't matter how much he apologized.

/I can't ever fix what I've done. Sorry is a horrible word; it attempts to fix your mistake while accomplishing nothing at all. My apologies are empty words, useless and hollow./

He didn't know if he was crying or not; he couldn't feel anything. His body felt numb and stiff and it was almost as if he wasn't inside it anymore. He felt unattached and trapped within a motionless shell.

It seemed like he sat there for hours until he felt a couple taps on his head. He looked up and saw no one was around, although the street lamp had gone out. There was a loud crack of thunder and immediately after, rain began to pour out of the sky.

/I deserve this, don't I?/

He didn't move to find shelter and instead sat out and let his clothes get drenched.

It was only after a few minutes he truly realized it was pouring, and he was soaking wet. He picked himself up off the bench and ducked into the nearest building.

It was a tiny pub with only a few people within, although that was to be expected since it was late at night.

"Rough night?" The bartender asked while glancing over at him.

He didn't reply and sat down at a bar stool while wringing out his hair. He looked into the reflection of the counter in front of him and realized he had cried; his face was a mess. His eyes were red and watery, and he looked paler than he had earlier. Even the bruises on his neck were visible.

"Here, it's on me." The bartender said as he placed a pint of beer on the counter in front of him.

Asch downed the entire thing in less than a minute and muttered a solemn thanks. The man gave him another glance before pulling out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

With a sigh, he sat down next to Asch. "Come on, tell me what happened."

* * *

"So much for actually getting somewhere on this military crisis," Guy muttered.

"Are you sure he went down this way?" Luke asked while ignoring him.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure. He knows these streets a lot better than I do. Asch is pretty cunning when he wants to be." Jade replied.

"Maybe we should look in the morning. The rain is pouring, and we're all going to catch colds!" Anise said over the thunder.

/We can't leave him out here all alone./

"No, we need to find him before he does something stupid. Now, where would I go if the love of my life just told me that she was in love with another man? Maybe I'd sit in an alleyway and cry. No, Asch isn't the type to cry. I know! I'd go get wasted!" Guy said while taking his fist and pounding it against his other flat hand.

"Does Asch even drink?" Anise asked warily.

"Any man would after that sort of news." Jade replied.

"Okay, you two go check the west end shops and bars and see if there still open. Meanwhile Guy and I will look around here for any trace of him." Luke said.

There was a loud crack of thunder followed by some bright lightning, but everyone still dutifully went off in their assigned directions.

"Luke!" Guy yelled over the roaring wind and rain.

"What?" He yelled back.

"It's no use! We can't stay out in this storm any longer!" Guy shouted.

/No, we can't give up!/

"Luke, you have to trust him to come back. He will."

/Asch, where are you?/

* * *

It was long past any hour that anyone should be awake. The guards were snoozing at their posts and Asch stumbled over them without waking them up.

/How the hell do you sleep in the rain?/

It was only sprinkling at this point, but still annoying enough to keep someone up. Asch had lost his shoes sometime in his walk back to the manor, but he couldn't remember for the life of him where they'd gone. He did, however, have a half empty bottle of whiskey in his hand that he didn't remember acquiring.

/I have to find somewhere to sleep in this building. I'm sure the servants won't mind if I take an extra bed./

The entire manor was shadowed in grays and blacks since the maids had hushed all the candles and flipped all the lights off. The only light was the constant flash of lightning, creating window shaped impressions of light into the flooring. Asch grimaced at how the thunder seemed to shake the ground around him and vibrate off the walls.

/There's no way anyone is sleeping through this./

His vision was hazy and unclear along with his shaky footsteps. It took him even longer to open doors. He felt drained of all strength and emotion.

Another crash of thunder broke the silence in the halls and was followed by the bright flash of lightning. Asch squinted at the window as if he had seen something in the window pane.

/Is that a silhouette or am I just that drunk?/

"You don't look so good, Asch."

Asch went pale and felt his head spinning more than it already was.

"Sync?" He gasped and began backing away from the figure in the window.

"Oh, no, I'm not here to fight you. I would've already killed you if I wanted to, seeing as your reflexes are duller than a butter knife. I just came to talk."

/He's right, but I still don't trust him. Why does he want to talk in the first place?/

"What are you doing here?" Asch asked warily.

"The god generals are trying to find me almost as badly as they are trying to find you. I'm the only one thinking rationally anymore, you know? Their deaths meant nothing to them; they didn't learn a thing. This entire world is a madhouse, filled with shitty people and their ideas."

/How does he switch personalities so quickly?/

Asch looked over at him before taking a seat next to the window.

/He just needs someone to talk to. He has no one, although, I don't either at this point./

"Want some?" Asch said while holding up the bottle.

Sync sat down next to him and took a swig before continuing, "People aren't supposed to come back from the dead. You want to know why your life has been so horrible? Because everyone's moved on. You aren't supposed to be here; you aren't written in the planet's plan. And I'm the same, too."

/Natalia, and Luke, too. I've ruined their lives in a matter of days. I shouldn't be here./

Asch looked over at him and murmured, "How do you know that this isn't all planned out? I do keep fucking things up for the people around me, but maybe that's the way it's supposed to be."

Asch couldn't seem to control his tongue and his words and curses seemed to slip out before he could stop them. Sync sat there for a moment and closed his eyes. He could hear the rain crashing down on the ceiling and knocking at the windows. It sounded peaceful, except for the constant crashes of thunder.

"Those are some wicked bruises."

"Yeah." Asch replied while taking another swig.

"I don't know what came over me, maybe it was something in the gas. Or maybe I'm just that impulsive." He replied.

/It was a pretty easy solution to most of our problems./

"I don't blame you." Asch said while laying his head against the wall.

"Some people just weren't meant for this world. Some people just fuck everything up and lay waste to the world. Why do people like that, like Van, get second chances?"

/He's trying to say something, but I'm not sure what./

"Why'd you come here tonight?" Asch asked solemnly.

"Why did I? Maybe I just thought you needed a little comfort. There's a big conference tomorrow, although I bet you already knew that. Everyone's angry that the Score is gone; they're angry because they've realized there is no higher purpose for them. And Malkuth and Kimlasca are on the brink of an unavoidable war. Van will keep egging it on until there's no one left, then he'll rebuild the world from there. Eldrant wasn't enough for him; he wants to own the entire planet, Asch. There's a good chance he will, too."

There was a long pause and they sat there listening to the rain and thunder.

"Jade doesn't even think Van is behind all of this. Besides, I'm not going to the conference; I think I'm going to drag Luke off to go find Tear before it's too late. One of us should be happy, right?" He muttered.

"She's in hiding for a reason; she doesn't want to be found. The god generals have kept close tabs on her, anyway."

/What does Tear know that we don't?/

"So how do we fix this? All of it." Asch murmured.

"I was hoping you had a plan." Sync said while taking the bottle from him.

"Well, we could send out people like Scorers, but the opposite. They could console and try to set up the stability that society once had. The Van problem could be solved if there was a way to destroy his efforts with brute force, provided that both countries were on board. The Fonic energy crisis could be solved if both the countries stopped fighting and worked to conserve energy. Almost all these problems could be solved if human nature wasn't so keen on anger and stubbornness."

"You're right about that, but what's Jade actually going to say tomorrow?" Sync muttered.

"He's thinking about it now. He's just going to try to improve the relationship between the countries, although it's obviously not going to work. And he's wondering if I came back."

"How do you know?" Sync asked curiously.

"It's a new skill I've acquired. I can tell what you're thinking, too." Asch replied without opening his eyes.

/I'm not really sure when I noticed I could tell what other people are thinking. I could just be delirious from lack of sleep./

"I guess that's why you're so important. Luke stored all your memories. When they created you, they included every single persons fonic frequency. You have all the memories and thoughts and emotions of everyone else stored inside you. Thus, they can create replicas with the memories they need while excluding the Score and anything else they want to. Their memories won't come back to you, like yours wont go back to Luke. They could erase things like anger and bitterness and despair and happiness from every single person just like they can erase the memories of the Score."

"Is that what he wants? Perfect people with no feelings and emotions? That's no way to live at all; feelings are what make us all human."

"It's what we all want, Asch."

Asch and Sync whipped their heads around and jumped up from the floor. Asch wavered a bit but managed to stay upright.

/I can't fight, not like this./

"Well, well, look who's here!" Sync sneered while putting himself in front of Asch.

"Sync, what are you doing?" Arietta called out from the darkness, but didn't step forward.

/Arietta? Who else is here?/

A bright flash of lightning illuminated four silhouettes surrounding Sync and him. They were placed out through the room with two in front of the exits and two directly ahead of Sync.

/Four? That means three god generals and.../

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, Asch?"

Asch froze in place and felt shivers crawl up his spine. He had to find a way out of here, but it seemed impossible even if he was in top condition.

/I can't even walk straight./

"I suggest you back away from that traitor, Asch. I have no problem taking you down, too." Legretta called out.

"Legretta, don't overstep your boundaries. Asch is smart enough to know when it's time to give up. I made him that way." Dist mocked from in front of them.

Lightning flashed again and showed the black and white scene with Asch glaring at Dist. His glasses hid his eyes, but the grin on Dist's face was unmistakable. Arietta looked scared and was gripping tightly to her doll and Legretta was still holding up her gun at the both of them. Last of all, Van was standing bravely in front of the pair with his arms folded.

"What are you doing running around here, Van? Don't you usually force us to do all the dirty work?" Sync sneered while holding Asch back.

/Sync's trying to pretend like he's not scared, but his head is a mess of fear. They have no reason to keep him alive, and Legretta wouldn't dare miss her shot with Van around./

"It seems like there are some traitors among my forces. Also, Asch might be a lot more willing to come along if I'm here." Van replied calmly.

/He looks the same as before he died; uniform and all. His eyes had a different look though. He looks even crazier than before./

"The only place I'll go with you is straight back to hell." Asch snarled from behind Sync.

/My words are starting to slur, but I don't think anyone's noticed yet except for Sync. I'm a mess, anyway./

A bullet whizzed past Sync who easily dodged it, but it scraped past Asch's cheek and imbedded itself into the wall. The gunshot was perfectly timed with a crack of thunder to mask the noise of the shot.

"Sync tried to kill you, and yet you trust him? Are you crazy?" Legretta yelled and cocked her gun again.

"Calm down, Legretta. The last thing we need is to wake up the entire manor." Dist said while looking over in her direction nervously.

/There's no way Jade didn't hear that; hopefully he didn't dismiss it as thunder. I can't focus enough to try to see what he's thinking, but I'm sure he's on his way. I can't even focus enough to see straight./

She lowered her gun but kept her eyes locked on Sync. The alcohol was making Asch head spin and he knew he was losing what little control he had left.

"Asch, we aren't the bad guys this time! Please don't make us hurt you. Once you come back, you'll understand!" Arietta whimpered from the doorway she was blocking.

"Enough of this. You're either coming back with us conscious or unconscious. Your choice." Legretta said calmly.

/Van has barely talked at all, which is odd considering how talkative he usually is. There must be something wrong./

Sync whipped out a knife and although Legretta shot at him, he dodged her bullets easily. He turned around to face Asch and gave him a cheery smile. Asch looked to his left and right to see who he was smiling at, but he realized a little too late what was going on.

Sync pulled his hair and forced him to his knees before placing the knife against his throat.

/Why does this always happen to me? I'm not even surprised anymore; it's just another typical day of me almost getting killed. Or maybe it's just the alcohol dulling my ability to be mad./

"We're playing by my rules, now." Sync taunted.

Asch felt the pressure of the blade against his throat begin to slice the delicate skin.

/I don't think he's playing around. He actually wants to kill me./


	12. All-Nighter

Reviewers are my favorite people in the world, although I never know if you want me to reply or not. I just want to give a big thanks to you guys :)

* * *

Luke watched the rain angrily knock against his windows and tumble down from the roof in thin streams. The lightning and thunder had been constant all night and showed no sign of stopping.

/I've always hated storms./

He pulled the covers tightly over his shoulders and looked around his old room. It was spotless except for the wet clothes he'd left on the floor. It felt odd to be back in the room, almost as if nothing had changed and he was still locked up in the manor.

/Nothing ever stays the same forever, I guess. Except for this room./

Another boom of thunder, louder than before, enveloped the manor and shook the walls. The rain began to pick up and flurried down from the sky in harsh waves. The room was illuminated when bright flashes of light etched across the sky, and Luke shuddered away from the window so he wouldn't be blinded by the harsh lightning.

/I wonder if Asch is still in this storm? Maybe he came back and is just hiding in one of the spare rooms. I hope he's okay./

Luke closed his eyes and attempted to connect with Asch. The storm seemed to make it easier to think; it blocked out all the other thoughts with its white noise of rain and thunder.

/Well, it's not as dead of a connection as it was before. But the link is still pretty hazy./

He was only getting unclear messages and washed out thoughts. It was a mixture of fear and despair, but Luke felt as if the pain was blocked off from him. Something was numbing the pain, but not erasing it completely.

/Something isn't right./

Luke pulled himself from the covers and slipped into his favorite clothes. The maids had already washed them for him, which he was extremely thankful for.

/They washed Asch's clothes, too. I need to make sure these get back to him./

After changing, Luke scrambled for the door and quickly opened it. He was running out of the door so fast that he didn't realize that someone was entering it at the same moment, too. They both crashed into each other and staggered back from the doorway in pain.

"Ow! Luke, what are you doing?" Guy hissed while holding his forehead.

"Sorry. I just, well, somethings not right." Luke replied while holding his head.

"So you heard it, too?" Guy asked suspiciously.

"Heard what?"

Guy looked around nervously and then said, "There have been lots of strange noises tonight. I'd like to blame them on the storm, but it just seems a little too suspicious. I think we should go find Jade."

Luke nodded and followed after him into the corridor of the main building. They'd given Jade one of the spare rooms, but he probably wasn't there.

"He's not here either! Let's go check the library!" Guy yelled as he raced out of the next room.

/Why is Guy in such a rush?/

Luke didn't question it and tried to keep up with Guy as he ran down the hallway. As they turned the corner, Guy yelled and fell to the floor and Luke followed in suit since he had followed Guy so closely.

"What the hell, Guy?" Luke said while he rubbed the side of his face.

Luke looked up to realize that Guy had already picked himself up off the floor and was pressed up against the wall next to Jade, who had appeared out of nowhere. They were right next to a window that was letting in ample light from the storm.

/Did Jade trip us?/

"Keep your voices low and duck." Jade whispered while leaning over to look out the window.

Luke didn't question him and placed himself to the left of Guy so that he was farthest away from the window. Luke looked over at Jade for an answer, but he was silently ignored by his stoic face. Guy shrugged his shoulders in response to Luke's puzzled face and tried to see what Jade was looking at through the window.

/At least I'm not the only confused one this time./

After a few moments, Jade ducked back to the safety of the wall and focused his attention on Luke.

"I think we're safe for now. Have you heard anything from Asch? Has he tried to contact you in any way?" He whispered.

/He's really serious about this, isn't he? I knew something wasn't right./

"No, nothing. His head is hazy and dull; it's like a novocaine feeling." Luke replied.

"More like some strong alcohol." Guy muttered.

/Guy is probably right. But that doesn't explain why he's so afraid all of a sudden./

"We have some strange visitors in the manor tonight." Jade murmured and looked out the window again.

"Are you talking about the gunshots?" Guy said.

"Gunshots?" Luke yelled, only to have his mouth quickly covered by Guy's hand.

After a few moments, Luke quieted down and whispered, "Gunshots? What's going on?"

"There are some god generals here, but I can't tell which ones. No doubt Asch is in there too."

Luke tried to yell again, but Guy kept his hand tightly over his mouth.

"Calm down, would you? Can you tell what they're doing?" Guy whispered while rolling his eyes at Luke.

Just as Jade tried to respond, and streak of lightning crossed the entire sky and ivory light flashed through each one of the windows. He squinted out the window as if the light could give him a glimpse as to who was in the building.

"Oh, it looks like our lovely little friend Sync is here. And Arietta, too. No doubt Legretta is here due to the noisy gunshots. Dist the Runny seems to have paid us a visit, along with the others. And," Jade narrowed his eyes and didn't finish.

"And?" Luke asked quietly.

"What a surprise; the man of the hour himself decided to show up." Jade hissed.

"Van?" Guy shouted this time in surprise.

Jade swung his head back from the window as two bullets flew through the pane. Guy and Luke looked at each other shocked and pulled themselves from the floor while unsheathing their swords.

"Don't get hasty now. Those were not meant for us, it just looks like Sync dodged the bullets headed for him. Apparently they all aren't teammates." Jade said, although he held his spear tightly in hand.

"And Asch?" Luke breathed out quietly.

"Yes, he's in there."

/At least he didn't disappear, although this is probably worse./

"So how did this whole mess happen?" Guy asked while trying to stay calm.

"I don't think we have time for explanations. It looks like Sync is using Asch to save his own skin." Jade replied while peering out the window.

/What is that guy's damn problem?/

"Let's go try to listen in from the doorway leading into the hall. Then we can wait for the moment to jump in there and save him, right?" Guy said.

* * *

"Ah, no, Sync! Please don't do that, you're going to ruin all my precious research!" Dist whined while stepping forward.

"Don't come any closer!"

Dist stopped moving and returned to his original position behind Van.

"Van, do something!" Dist hissed while ducking behind him.

Van seemed to snap into focus and said, "Sync, if you stop these foolish games now, we won't have to kill you."

/Since when did Van take orders from Dist? He doesn't even sound the same as before; is he a defective replica?/

Van unsheathed his sword and began stepping toward to Sync, who tightened the blade across Asch's throat. Van made no sign of stopping, however, and began wildly swinging his sword in Sync's direction. Legretta began to fire straight at his head with both her guns but didn't get any closer.

/Van isn't the ringleader at all. It's.../

Sync began backing away which in turn cause the knife to get tighter and tighter across Asch's throat. Eventually his back ran into the window, and he realized he had nowhere left to run.

/I can't breathe!/

"No," Arrieta whimpered.

Everyone ignored her completely and continued their assault on Sync. Even Dist didn't bat an eye to her pleads.

"No! Everyone, stop it now!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly packs of monsters began scratching at the windows and walls from outside, ravenously trying to get into the room.

The room fell silent and everyone froze in place. Arietta pointed over at Asch, who was still being held by Sync. There was blood pouring down his neck and staining his white clothes in rich, maroon hues.

"Oh, shit!" Sync yelled while loosening his grip on Asch His hands were stained with blood and he immediately dropped the knife in response.

He jumped away from the body and crashed out through the window and into the courtyard. The monsters didn't chase after him and ignored his frantic escape through the manor.

Asch collapsed to the floor when Sync let go of him but tried to prop himself up with one arm. He took his other hand and slowly traced the gash in his neck with a dull green light.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dist said angrily while snatching his hand away from his throat.

Dist's smug face was inches away from his own, which seemed like the perfect opportunity for Asch. He took his free hand and smashed his fist right into Dist's face. The crack of his glasses was audible throughout the entire room and he staggered back from Asch.

/Dist is the one running all of this; all he has is an army of flawed replica's. These aren't the same people at all./

"Damn you, you little defect! Do you really want to fight? Go ahead, Van, show him what you're made of." Dist yelled while crying out about his precious face.

Asch slowly pulled himself of the floor while grabbing Sync's bloody knife that he'd dropped. Van began to edge forward before he started swinging wildly again. It was a very simple pattern to dodge: he'd swing left, then right, then straight on.

/He's just a hollow killing machine. His mind is blank except for simple fighting strategies; I doubt he even knows what the Score is. Why was Sync under the impression that Van was in charge? Was he just telling me lies, or was he the one who was told lies?/

Asch landed a solid jab in his stomach when Van left himself wide open, but he struck him so hard that the blade became lodged in Van's chest.

/It doesn't even look like he feels pain; he's just another one of Dist's puppets. What if I turn into this, too?/

Van took the upper hand while Asch was spaced out and swung directly for his chest. Asch managed to somewhat dodge it, but was left with a nasty gash on his shoulder by a follow-up attack from Van.

/Where the hell are Luke and the others?/

"Ready to give up?" Dist sneered from the corner of the room he was hiding in.

/There's no way I'm going to win; not with this wound and all the other one's I've acquired. There has to be some way out of this./

Asch ducked underneath another swing by Van and retaliated with a swift kick to the stomach. Van staggered back and slumped against the wall; the effects of Asch's blade still embedded in his chest started to take effect. Van loosened his grip on his blade until he eventually dropped it. The ringing of the sword hitting the marble floors filled the room with an uncertain silence.

Dist looked at the body in shock for a few moments before grinning.

"That was an extremely admirable attempt. What you don't realize is that I can just recreate a better, stronger version. Legretta, please take care of this. He won't last much longer, anyway."

/He's right, I can barely stand up. Besides.../

Asch staggered back in shock and looked down at his stomach. The boom of sound hit him a second later and he realized that Legretta had already fired her gun almost before Dist had said anything. A new stain of crimson began to spread across his coat and soaked the fabric in a matter of seconds.

/I didn't even see her lift her gun./

"I missed all vital organs, nerves, and muscles." Legretta said shakily while lowering her gun back to her side.

Asch fell to the floor and felt the pain begin to spread through his body. Someone came over to look at him and Asch could hear their ringing laughter, although he couldn't see his or her face. His vision began to black out, and he closed his eyes to not have to look into strangers eyes.

/There are no perfect replicas at all, are there?/

* * *

When Asch reopened his eyes, he was laying on what felt like street bricks. In fact, that's exactly where he was.

/I'm right outside the manor, aren't I? But how'd I end up here?/

It was still raining although the thunder had completely died down. The loud noises that replaced it were the ringing of gunshots and the howls of monsters. Asch pulled himself to a sitting position and noticed that he'd obviously been dragged to this point; there was blood smeared down the front steps of the manor all they way into the streets.

/It's still difficult to breathe with my neck wounded. I need to fix this before I run out of air./

Dist was missing from the picture, and Asch assumed he'd ran away like the coward he was. Meanwhile Legretta and Arietta were in the heat of battle with Jade, Guy, and Luke, although the girls were obviously losing. The monsters looked to be the main problem, since they kept coming out of nowhere and were getting stronger with each wave.

/Couldn't they have come sooner? I know they knew what was going on./

"Asch can't you see how pointless this all is? Fighting solves nothing; that's why I never do it myself. I just want to create a world worthy of living in." A voice whispered from behind him.

Asch was taken aback and whirled his head around to see that Dist was walking down the manor steps slowly. Asch didn't answer, but slowly began to crawl away from him.

"I just want the people I love back. I'm don't want to hurt anyone, but if I have to split a few heads to get what I want, then its a worthy sacrifice. Wouldn't you do anything to bring back someone you loved, like that little princess? If you come with me, I can make you a better Natalia, one who isn't so-"

Asch stood up from the ground and snarled, "Why do you think people can be _better_? What the hell is wrong with the way people are now?"

He started to run over to Dist with his fist raised before a steady arm held him back.

"People don't come back from the dead, Saphir." Jade said as he walked in front of Asch.

"Why can't we just go back to the way we used to be, Jade? Just me, and you, and-" Dist whimpered, but was cut off by Jade.

"No matter how perfect of a world you create, you will still be the same cowardly shell you are. You will still be alone, surrounded by all these _perfect_ people. Even if you bring the professor back with all the same memories," Jade stopped and got close to Dist's face.

/You can't recreate feelings; the memories may be the same, but feelings are always changing. Dist will be alone in a world full of lost souls waiting for their chance to die again./

"She will never have the same feelings toward you."

Dist looked solemnly at Jade for a few moments before slamming his foot down and yelling, "You don't know that, Jade! I can make myself perfect, too, and she'll remember me! I'll make a better one of you, too. Everything can go back to the way it was!"

/Nothing ever stays the same, does it? Except human nature./

He ran away into the black cover of the streets, and Jade didn't make a move to chase him. Arietta and Legretta stopped fighting and quickly followed after Dist, leaving Guy and Luke alone in the moonlit street.

"Why aren't you going after him?" Asch muttered while trying to stay upright.

"We have more important things to deal with. The threat has certainly decreased if it's just a poorly conceived plan by Dist." Jade replied sourly.

"They've all got flaws, you know? All of those replicas are nowhere near their originals. I think Sync is a combination of the original Sync and Ion, which is why he's asking for advice for a minute and slitting my throat the next."

"He didn't spend much time on them, you're right." Jade murmured in response.

/What would happen if he did spend a lot of time?/

They stopped talking when they realized that Guy and Luke were running in their direction.

"It was very foolish of you to run off like that." Jade muttered and walked back into the manor.

"We leave you alone for five minutes and you almost get yourself killed! What is your problem?" Guy yelled while grabbing onto Asch's shoulders and shaking him.

Asch immediately pushed him away and held onto his shoulder while grimacing in pain. Before he could answer, Luke punched him right in the jaw and sent his head spinning.

"Maybe you shouldn't have done that, Luke." Guy said nervously as he watched Asch try to regain his balance.

"Asch?"

* * *

"So can someone explain to me how you can get stabbed, shot, and almost beheaded all in one night?" Anise said while glaring over in Asch's direction.

/Does she expect him to answer?/

Luke was carrying Asch since he'd fallen unconscious when he had punched him.

/Oops. Well, he deserved it, didn't he?/

He had to carry him princess style so he wouldn't put pressure on any of the new wounds which created a pretty pathetic picture. Asch looked near death at this point, even worse than when they'd entered Keterburg.

/He never looks relaxed, even when he's unconscious. His attempts to look strong while he's bleeding to death are pitiful and adorable at the same time./

"Now, now Anise. Noelle's waiting for us on the Albiore since we obviously can't stay here, and I'm sure we can find a way to patch him up before we reach our destination." Jade replied.

Everyone but Jade looked around at each other and then said in unison, "Huh?"

"We need to talk to Teodoro before the conference if we're going to actually get anywhere this time. And I think Tear's assistance would help us greatly since _someone_ keeps almost dying on us."

"Tear's in Yulia City? That's not the best place to hide." Guy muttered.

"All the more reason to hide there!" Jade said endearingly.

/I wonder if Tear is going to react as horrible as Natalia did. She's calmer than that, right?/

* * *

Asch's eyes fluttered open and he sat up startled and confused. The surroundings were nowhere near the same, and yet it felt familiar.

/Right, I'm on the Albiore. Not Gingi's, though, this is Noelle's ship. Where is everyone? Oh god, I'm so hungover./

He looked around and noticed the absence of people who should have been there. He stood up slowly and walked over to a bench near the back of the cabin while holding his head. There was a note placed neatly on top of an old uniform.

/Luke must have brought it./

"Dear Asch: we've stopped in Yulia City to see Teodoro and Tear. If you wake up, which I doubt you will, Jade says not to try to heal your wounds and that you should wait for Tear. He also says you should stay in the ship 'till we come back. Anise made you some cookies, too, so at least try to eat them so she doesn't get upset. I'm sure we'll be back soon!"

Asch read the note aloud before sighing and tossing it aside. He looked out the window and saw that it was barely morning, which meant he wasn't going to get any sleep. With another remorseful sight, he picked up his clothes and walked into the bathroom. Most of his layers of wet clothing had already been taken off to treat the wounds effectively.

/Legretta barely missed the other wound from Luke's shot. That wound has barely healed too. I can't keep going like this; I'm going to eventually collapse from the stress of all these injuries./

He couldn't keep going through the pain, either. It was beginning to get unbearable and nauseating at the same time. His neck was a mess of blood and bruises and was horrifying to look at; Jade seemed to avoid messing with it at all unlike all his other wounds.

/I have to heal some of these wounds or else I'm going to pass out again from the pain again. Jade won't mind too much, will he?/

He scoffed at the fact that Jade would, indeed, be angry with him, along with Luke.

/Those two are like doting parents. Guy is no better, either. /

Asch slowly walked back out to the main cabin and changed into the clothes Luke left him. Instead of just throwing the bloody clothes on the floor, he folded them neatly and placed them on the bench next to him.

/Can't go making a mess on someone else's ship. Although, these clothes are better off being thrown away than salvaged./

He tried to eat some of the food Anise had left for him, but his jaw felt broken and his throat was scratched and scarred.

/Maybe later then./

He brought his hand up to the gash in his neck and winced as he touched it, but didn't pull it away. He closed his eyes and focused on healing and not the pain gnawing on his throat. A bright green light enveloped the entire cabin in a flash, but died down into a dull glow surrounding him.

He felt the veins and tissues slowly begin to reconnect and mesh together until the outside skin began to stitch itself back up and carefully close. The light began to fade until the warm sensation ebbed out of his skin and left the cabin dark and quiet once again. He waited a while before opening his eyes again.

* * *

"Does he just deliberately try to make me mad? I obviously told him not to do any healing artes while I was gone, didn't I?" Luke yelled while pointing at Asch.

Asch suddenly opened his eyes and flinched when he realized everyone was surrounding him.

/Did I fall asleep? My head still feels like its about to split open; this is one of the worst headaches I've ever experienced./

"Where the hell did you all come from?" Asch asked grumpily while rubbing his forehead.

Suddenly, Tear reached out icy fingers to touch the scar along his neck and murmured, "You're right, Jade, this is different."

"Do you mind?" Asch said while slowly pushing her hand away and standing up.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking." Tear said and pulled her hand away.

"Well, now that we've all introduced ourselves, it's back to Baticul!"Jade said cheerily.

* * *

Luke watched Asch stalk off to the other end of the Albiore and Luke decided to take a seat before they took off, too. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea and scattered themselves throughout the Albiore, except for Tear, who sat down right next to Luke.

/She didn't even seem phased that I disappeared for two years... did she really believe in me that much?/

After a few moments, Luke asked, "Hey, what were you talking about with Jade earlier? About Asch, that is?"

Tear looked over and replied," Oh, he's using a different technique than most normal Seventh Fonists use. In fact, I've only seen it used in Dawn Age texts."

"What does that mean, though? Is there something wrong?" Luke said anxiously.

"No, it's just a more pinpointed technique. Most fonists today heal the entire body slowly, while this form is a much stronger and exact technique usually targeting one wound."

"Hmm," Luke replied, although he wasn't really paying attention and was watching Asch struggle with his collar.

/He didn't fix the bruises; they look worse than they did before./

"You two have really gotten close, haven't you?" Tear said sweetly as she followed his gaze over to Asch.

"Yeah." Luke mumbled although he still wasn't paying any attention to her.

/He's thinking about Natalia right now, and all I'm getting are feelings of pain and despair. He holds himself together on the outside, but he's a wreck on the inside./

"Well, I don't trust him." Tear said angrily and turned away from Luke.

"Wait, what?" Luke said as he snapped out of his trance.

"I said I don't trust him. He can obviously heal himself, too, so why am I being brought along on this suicide mission? These two countries are never going to-" Tear stopped arguing and ran over to the window.

"This does not look good." Jade muttered as he looked too.

"What's going on?" Guy said as he hopped out of his chair from his nap.

"There's a riot going on in Baticul. If you look down, you can see the streets full of people crowding the entire city!" Anise exclaimed while pointing at the glass.

/Why is everyone so angry? Is it about the conference?/

"So how are we supposed to get in there and stop all this?" Guy asked.

"Let's just use the back entrance through the old factory and force our way through all the people." Asch muttered while not bothering to look out the window.

"I heard they closed that up a year ago, but it's worth a shot!" Guy said.

Noelle dropped them down in front of the old exit outside of Baticul and they easily broke down the barricade. Everyone rushed in, leaving Luke and Asch lagging behind at a slow pace.

"I missed Tear and you meeting. Did it go, um, well?" Asch asked awkwardly when the others were out of earshot.

"Too well, almost." Luke muttered.

/She didn't even seem bothered at all that I went missing./

"Trust me, she's dying on the inside. She just doesn't want to lose it and cry in front of everyone. I'm sure when you two are alone everything will work itself out." Asch said assuredly.

"How do you know all that? You don't seem the type to be insightful about relationships." Luke asked curiously.

/Maybe I shouldn't have said that./

"I can tell what she's thinking. It's a new skill I've picked up, I guess. Jade thinks we should hurry up, too." Asch replied amusedly.

/I've basically been learning what's going on through Asch's thoughts. I guess being everyone's isofon gives you the ability to tell what they are thinking, or at least that's what he thinks./

Jade looked back at the pair and narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything and turned back around.

"Can people tell when you, well, read their mind?" Luke asked suspiciously.

"Apparently some people can." Asch muttered while looking over at Jade.

"Come on you two, it's best not to get separated!" Guy shouted while waving them on.

* * *

"What is going on?" Anise yelled as they stepped out of the cable car that led them from the factory.

The streets were filled with men and women alike, although most of the men were in an all out brawl while the women were cheering them on. All of the men were angry and red-faced just looking for someone to fight unless they were already fighting.

"Excuse me, can you tell me what's going on?" Guy said as he slowly approached one of the less feisty of the women.

She looked at him for a moment before replying, "The big conference, you know? Everyone thinks they're going to merge the two countries into one. I say, let 'em do what they want, but people from both countries are gathered here in protest. Probably why there are so many fights, you know? Getting a bunch of Kimlasca citizens and Malkuth nobles together is just asking for trouble."

"Thanks for your help, ma'am." Guy said and bowed before walking over to the group. She looked over at him surprised and blushed as he walked away.

"You heard that, right? Is she serious?"

"We have to get up there!" Luke yelled over the commotion.

They pushed and squirmed through the crowds before reaching the elevator leading up to the castle. Soldiers were holding back the angry citizens and avoiding the bottles being thrown at their heads.

/There's no way we're going to get up there./

"What do we do now?" Luke yelled over the angry shouts of citizens.

"The old service elevator! Since no one really knows about it, I'm sure they haven't gotten around to blocking it off yet!" Guy shouted.

They all began to follow Guy until Anise tripped and bumped into a large, burly man. He slowly turned around and growled, "Are you looking for trouble, little missy?"

Anise glanced around as if he was talking to someone else, then realized he was angry with her. She began to slowly back away and stutter out an apology, but was too terrified to complete her sentence.

Asch stepped in front of Anise and snarled back, "Are _you_ looking for trouble?"

Someone pulled his hair from behind him and sneered, "Look what we got here! A born and raised Kimlascan noble trying to act brave! I can tell by the color of his hair and the snobby look on his face that he's definitely Kimlascan."

"Hey, what is your damn problem?" Asch yelled while trying to free his hair from the man's grasp.

The same man who Anise had run into balled up his fist and smashed it right into Asch's face. Asch retaliated by kicking him straight up the middle and elbowing the man behind him. The second man let go of Asch's hair from the force of his blow and instead opted for kicking him in the back, knocking Asch off-balance and onto the ground. As the man walked forward to grab him again, Asch tripped him and dust flew up everywhere. Suddenly everyone in the surrounding area joined in, with some helping Asch and others teaming up to attack him.

"Should we, you know, do something?" Guy said awkwardly while pointing at Asch who was on the ground again.

The group had all huddled of to the side and were awkwardly watching the fights break out around them from this one little argument. They kept looking at each other, hoping that someone would know what to do. But, of course, everyone was at a loss to decide whether to join in or not.

"No, no, that'll just make it worse. See, he's got the upper hand again." Luke replied nervously while watching Asch land another solid blow.

"It doesn't matter where he is or who he's with; Asch will always find a way to get himself hurt." Guy muttered as he watched the fight.

"Oh, no, this is all my fault! All these boys are fighting over me!" Anise wailed with a devious smile on her face.

"We kind of have somewhere to be, don't we?" Tear muttered.

"Sometimes we all need to take a break and have some fun, right Tear?" Jade said enthusiastically.

"Fun?" Guy gulped as he watched Asch take another blow to the face. He winced and looked away.

"He's going to have a serious black eye tomorrow." Anise muttered.

"You know, Anise, Asch is still technically a member of the Fabre household, which means he's richer than beyond belief." Jade murmured in Anise's ear.

"What are you doing, Jade?" Luke hissed from afar.

Anise's eyes sparkled and she said excitedly, "Now that Natalia's not an option, I have a chance at his money! I mean, his love!"

She jumped into the fight and started hitting the burly man who was wailing on Asch as he and Asch wrestled on the ground.

"Get off of my future husband right now!" She screamed while pushing and kicking him.

The man stood up in shock and held his hands out in front of him while tensing his shoulders as a gesture of apology. He then turned around and started yelling at another poor boy trapped in the fight.

She glared and pulled Asch up of the ground and dusted him off before he could protest. Then she licked her finger and wiped off some of the smeared blood that was running down Asch's face.

"Thank you for defending me, my noble knight." She said sweetly while hugging him.

Asch frantically looked over at the group for help, although they were all snickering and trying to look away as if they had no idea what was going on. Tear didn't look amused at all and rolled her eyes at him.

"Ah, no problem, I guess. I'm not going to marry you, you know that, right?" Asch muttered while blushing. He tried to pry her off his waist with an embarrassed shove, but she just held on tighter and giggled.

"We'll see!"


	13. Misconnections

"We're all ready to proceed, yes? Let me do most of the talking, since you all are here as more of witnesses than anything else. Tear is representing Teodoro, though, since his old age is hindering his ability to travel." Jade said as they stood in front of the castle doors.

"Oh, yeah, why'd we need to see Teodoro in the first place?" Luke questioned while he looked around the landscape.

No one had bothered to clean up the blood still smeared on the cobblestone, and most of the manicured garden was butchered into uneven blades of grass. There was also an eerie silence that floated in the air, much unlike the pandemonium on the lower levels.

/I guess it's only been a couple of hours, hasn't it? And all the help around the castle is busy defending it rather than cleaning it./

"Did you really not pay attention, Luke? He's willing to help with funds and volunteers in order to calm down the hysteria over the Score. That's a big deal, believe it or not. Although, he's proposed this many times, and no one seems to listen anyway." Guy said with a sigh.

"We're gonna make them listen!" Luke exclaimed and headed to open the doors.

"That's the spirit!" Guy said and followed after him.

"Wait," Asch said and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What is it?" Luke said without turning around.

"Ah," Asch faltered with his words and then looked over at Jade who was giving him a disapproving glare.

"Nevermind, then." He finished and let go of his shoulder.

/He must be nervous about seeing Natalia again./

* * *

"What do you mean, 'irreconcilable differences'?" Natalia yelled as she slammed her hands down on the table.

/Maybe we came in at the wrong time./

Everyone cringed before Emperor Peony spoke up and said, "Remember your place, princess. And, I'm not saying that we're going to get thrown straight into an all out war, all I mean is that Kimlasca has obviously violated many of the treaties and regulations both countries agreed to. I don't think Malkuth can continue business on with _thieves_, and that's where I stand."

"Tell me exactly what I've, no what Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, has done wrong by you?" Natalia said while trying to calm down, even though she just sounded more high-pitched and exasperated.

"Good, I was hoping you'd ask. See, here is a list of all the violations-"

The argument abruptly stopped when the group was finally noticed, and no one seemed to want to greet them without upsetting someone else. The awkward silence hung in the air as Natalia glared over at them and everyone else seemed to avoid eye contact. Eventually, Peony let out a deep laugh and remarked, "Jade, a little late, aren't we? Oh well, it's always good to see you."

Jade replied with a respectful greeting, "You too. Now what's all this fuss about?"

The rest of the group took their seats at the end of the table and didn't try to strike up conversation.

/I didn't imagine it to be this bad; what could have happened?/

"Jade, please tell him how unreasonable and-" Natalia began spitting out insults, but Jade tried to speak over her.

"It's obviously noticeable how biased those agreements were when they were made, Peony. No one realized the severity of how much of our fonic technology was going to be hurt by the destruction of the Planet Storm, and the little that still does flow out of the Sephiroths is mainly in Malkuth's territory. You must realize how unfair it is to deprive a country of-" Jade explained monotonically, as if he'd given this speech plenty of times.

/When it comes to business, Jade doesn't play around. It's crazy to watch his tone switch between when he's dealing with important matters and just talking to us. Who gave the people in the streets the idea that the two countries are merging into one empire? It seems like the exact opposite to me./

"Oh, trust me, I realize how unfair it is. Honestly, we are barely making due with the amount we have, and there's no room to share. I'm just looking out for my people. Worst of all, Kimlasca has resorted to stealing what little amounts they can. I've heard they're even researching ways to restore the Planet Storm as if they're oblivious to the reason we had to stop it in the first place." Peony cooly replied.

"Are you accusing my country of being a thief? If you're barely making due, imagine how desperate we are! I will not sit and watch my people suffer." Natalia shouted back with her arms folded.

"If I may interject, Sheridan is hard at work with fontech designs created solely to be more energy-efficient. I've been a part of the research team, so I know first hand that it's an option. Maybe if we focused on conserving what we have and not trying to find more, then-" Guy nervously said to try to appease Natalia.

"That's just not good enough. We need the energy now, and fancy technology that will take years to develop is useless. It comes down to this: whether Malkuth is willing to share, or if we will have to take what we deserve." The man next to Natalia stated while standing up next to her.

/I wonder if that's her fiancé. Where's King Ingobert, anyway? Why is Natalia in charge of all this?/

"Isn't that a little drastic?" Natalia uneasily murmured into her companions ear.

"This is the only way to save our country, Natalia." He responded and looked at her softly.

"You're right." She said quietly and then looked back over at Peony.

"It's your choice." She stated with a defiant glare.

"If it's a fight you're looking for, then it's a fight you've got, little girl. I hope you remember this when you see your precious soldiers dead on the battlefield." An executive of Peony spat back at her. His poisonous words seemed to strike a nerve within Natalia and she opened her mouth to reprimand him until Jade tried to take control of the situation.

"This is a lot of rash decisions we're making all at once, isn't it? You do realize with the economic instability that both countries face, a war is the last thing you both need. Be reasonable." Jade stated sternly.

/Looks like we didn't need to bring Tear, did we? It seemed like a pretty important issue to appease the citizens about the Score, but not compared to this./

"I will not sit here and be insulted! Prepare for war, Malkuth scoundrels!" Natalia yelled and stomped out of the room fuming. The clicking of her heels was audible down the hall and her incoherent insults were, too.

The man who had been by Natalia's side raised his nose up at Emperor Peony and said, "I either want an agreement of future energy sharing plans or a declaration of war by the end of the week. Do not take this lightly, as the way you seem to treat everything else."

With that, he left the room and the rest of the Kimlascan members of the debate awkwardly followed after him.

"That probably could've gone better." Guy muttered.

"Natalia would've never acted that way before. How could she have changed so much in just two years?" Luke muttered back.

"It's not her, it's that guy." Anise muttered quietly back, as if she didn't expect Luke to hear him.

"Things have just been getting worse in general, Luke. With King Ingobert gone, and the faulty leadership over Kimlasca, it's just been a mess." Guy said.

"What do you mean King Ingobert is gone?" Luke questioned.

"I was going to tell you earlier but Jade kept giving me a strange look." Asch said.

/He must have heard Jade thinking it, or maybe Guy./

"He passed away a couple of months ago. It was a combination of a sickness and his old age, but I don't think it was painful at all." Guy said solemnly.

/I guess I never really knew him that well, but he's the only person who believe in Natalia and me. I can't believe he's gone./

Luke didn't respond and solemnly looked over at Jade and Peony who were discussing something quite loudly.

"Natalia's been unreasonable for some time, Luke. A lot of people think she went off the deep end when Asch and you went missing. It's why we're having so many national problems; she can't handle the stress of ruling over a country." Tear interjected.

"They even told her she couldn't rule since she was so young and a girl, along with that. So she went off and found someone with the same love of Kimlasca and they both supposedly control the country together, but it's obviously not working." Anise said after her.

Luke had almost forgotten Asch was here because she had stayed so uncannily quiet during the entire discussion.

"I'm going for a walk, or maybe to go get the rest of this blood off my face. Anyway, I'm leaving." Asch muttered and then stalked out of the room.

"Should I come with you?" Luke called out, but Asch slammed the door behind him.

"He's really hung up on Natalia, huh?" Anise said thoughtfully.

Before Luke could respond, Emperor Peony called out, "Luke! How long's it been, one, two years? You haven't been around much, have you? People started some nasty rumors that you'd died and such. It's good to have you back, anyway."

Luke gave an endearing smile but couldn't force any words back out in response.

/For some reason, that guy's always given me the creeps./

* * *

Asch was already on the far end of the castle leading out into one of the many courtyards before a loud voice from behind a door made him stop. He skidded to a halt and came back over to the door to hear a loud argument.

/It's that idiots voice again, the one who was with Natalia. What does she see in him, anyway? Sure he's got nice brown hair, but that doesn't compare to... no, my hair needs a lot of work too. Well, he may be tan but... I'm paler than the snow in Keterburg aren't I? That may be true, but his muscles are only... i'm skinnier and weaker than a five-year old girl at this point. So what if I don't compare, at least I'm not a pompous idiot!/

"Can't you see this is the only solution? Peony is an idiot incapable of war strategies! In a couple of months, this will all be over, and we can sit and watch Malkuth burn." The man's muffled voice was easily heard through the door.

"Yes, I know that, but the people, sir. What makes you think they'll agree to another war? Things are bad enough already." It sounded like one of the timid voices of the stout secretaries from earlier.

"The people? They'll believe anything that comes straight from their dear Princess. That's the whole reason she's here in the first place. I can't understand why those citizens love her so with her senseless demands and her shrill voice and her constant arguments with everything and everyone! Trust me, when this is all over, I'll-" Asch started to back away from the door as he watched the handle begin to turn.

He found himself running towards a bathroom at the end of the hall and carefully hid himself within it. There were plenty of stalls even though the castle never had too many visitors unless it was for a special event. It smelled like soft lemons and harsh bleach which hurt his nose, but it was pleasant all the same.

Asch walked up to the large mirror that was covered an entire wall of the bathroom and glowered at all the new scratches and bruises that laced his body. His eye already looked swollen and there was some blood still left on his lip from where it had been split open.

"I'm a mess." Asch muttered to himself and then turned away from the mirror.

"You could say that again, eh? Weren't you at the conference just a minute ago, you and your brother? You two must know someone high up to be able to attend these sorts of things. Those crowds out there are nasty, aren't they? A bunch of worthless pigs if you ask me. Is that how you got that shiner?"

Asch froze and realized that Natalia's fiancé had followed him into the bathroom, although he didn't seem to notice that Asch had been snooping on him earlier.

"Yeah." He muttered while trying to walk past him.

"Hey, I'm Edward the Third, but you can just call me Ed. My family is almost as distinguished as the Fabre's, did you know that? Oh, I didn't catch your name." Edward said smoothly while grabbing onto Asch's shoulder.

Asch took another look at him and realized how tall he actually was; he towered over Asch's small frame.

/Should I tell him my real name? I guess it'd be worse to lie, but I'm not too fond of this guy in the first place./

"Don't worry about it." Asch said and tried to brush his hand off his shoulder only to realize the man had a firm grip already.

"No, really." He repeated, this time much less friendly.

/What's his problem? I guess I don't need to start an unnecessary conflict, even though I would love to beat the shit out of this guy./

"It's Asch." He said again and twisted to get away, although Edward stepped in front of him.

"No way, that boy Natalia's been bitchin' and moanin' about? Man, you can have her back after I'm done, because trust me, she is a piece of work. Nice to look at though, I guess." He taunted.

"What the hell did you just say?" Asch spat.

Suddenly Luke burst through the door and shouted, "Hey, Asch, where the hell have you been? It's-"

Luke stopped while still holding the door open and asked, "What's going on?"

"We were just getting to know each other, aren't we?" Edward sneered and gave a not-so-friendly punch to Asch's wounded shoulder.

He winced and then muttered, "Come on, Luke."

* * *

"Peony isn't changing his mind, and Natalia is inconsolable, and this is a huge mess!" Guy lamented while he held his head in his hands frustrated.

"Asch, stop it! You're going to pass out again if you try to heal all of your wounds! Just let Tear do it!" Anise exclaimed while tugging on his arm.

"I'm not helping anyone who is capable of doing it themselves." Tear said coldly.

"Do we all have to act like such children?" Jade muttered exasperatedly.

"Anise is right, Tear." Luke sharply whispered.

"Goddamnit, would you all just leave me alone?" Asch yelled while trying to and failing to stand up.

"Would someone **please** just give me directions!" Noelle shouted over all the voices in the cabin.

The cabin fell silent and they all looked over at Noelle who was holding a torn apart map in her hands and was breathing heavy.

"Where are we going anyway?" Luke questioned quietly.

It stayed quiet until Jade said, "We have to pick a side that we feel is possible to waver into the other's favor. Peony seems like he'd be the more favorable option, since he's capable of rational thought."

"If we just got rid of Natalia's fiancé, then she'd start thinking clearly, right? I'm sure we could-" Asch started, but Guy cut him off.

"She was like this even before she met him, Asch. Sometimes, people just change for good, and you can't, well, you can't fix them." He said softly.

/And if I get stuck on Natalia, I'd be no better than Dist. It's time to move on, just like she did. I think it's easier to move on when someone's dead rather than trying to forget someone who is alive, though. Maybe that's Dist's and Jade's relationship./

Asch bit his lip and said, "Right. Peony it is."

No one moved, including Noelle, and instead they all gave soft, sympathetic looks to Asch. He didn't realize for a moment until he abruptly looked around.

"What are you all staring at?" He muttered and stalked off to some unknown corner of the ship.

"You heard the man, Noelle, off to grand Chokmah!" Jade said cheerfully.

"No, wait, we should split up and talk to both sides. As long as one group has me and the other has Asch, we can communicate from afar. I don't think it's right to leave Kimlasca out." Luke said just before they took off.

"He's right." Tear concluded.

"Who goes where then?" Jade said as he was expecting this to happen.

* * *

"Grand Chokmah is so beautiful this time of year! The way the snow falls, and how the waterfalls freeze in some places; it's so breathtaking!" Anise said as he danced around the entrance to the city with shimmering eyes.

/She's off in his own little world./

To be honest, Asch had only been in the city during the summertime, and he'd never realized just how cold it got up here. Of course, it was on the same line of latitude as Keterburg, which meant it was bound to get cold winters too.

Asch looked over to his left and saw that Jade was staring off into space with a very serious look.

/I wonder what he's troubled by?/

"It's a bad idea to get lost in other people's minds, Asch." Jade said without looking over at him.

"How come you are the only one that notices?" Asch questioned curiously.

"Hmm, I wonder why, too." Jade said and ended the conversation there.

They all seemed to be suffering in silence until Anise made eye contact with him and had a devious smile plastered to her face. Asch tried to back away but it was too late, and Anise threw herself around Asch's waist while wailing, "Brr, it's so cold out here that I might freeze to death! We need to stay close to be warm, right, Asch?"

Asch sighed and muttered, "If it makes you that happy."

Anise looked back up at him and cooed, "You act like a grouch, but really you're just a big softie, huh?"

Asch let out another loud sigh and then said, "Why don't you just go keep Jade warm?"

Anise didn't respond but just gave him a weird look for a couple of minutes.

"What?" He asked confused.

"She'll come back, you know. People change for the better and for the worse, but they can't actually change who they are on the inside. I had to lie to everyone to save my parents, but I never actually changed into a liar. I just had to change to cope with the things life threw at me, you know? You probably wouldn't have recognized yourself between now and back before all this happened. I think you changed for the better, but you'll still always be the same grouchy Asch." Anise said as she let go of him in front of the entrance to the inn.

/She's pretty insightful for her age. I guess I just thought this was a group full of idiots because those were the only people I could imagine hanging out with Luke. Actually, I couldn't imagine anyone willingly hanging out with him./

"Thanks." Asch murmured and tried to manage a smile.

"You're really terrible at smiling, did you know that?" Anise said while giggling.

"You two need to hurry along and get some sleep. You know how children get without there sleep, and we have a big day ahead of us!"

* * *

\Don't you dare, Luke.\

Luke, Guy, and Tear were waiting on a couch in Natalia's room peacefully while she had left to get tea for and Tear were conversing about the new technology Sheridan was working while Luke was in a metal war with Asch.

/If I tell her what happened, she won't be mad anymore! I have to do this. Besides, if she's not mad it'll make this whole thing a lot easier./

"I'm going to tell Natalia everything that's happened." Luke said out loud, and Guy and Tear stopped talking.

"Are you sure about this, Luke?" Tear said nervously.

"It's the only way she'll understand."

\She won't understand at all!\

"I say, go for it. We need Natalia back on our side. Tear and I can disappear for a little while." Guy said cheerfully.

\Luke...\

Natalia gracefully entered while holding a silver tray strewn with cups and a steaming kettle. She wobbled but managed to get it onto the table before collapsing down into a chair.

"The maids wanted to make it, but I decided I should since it was so late at night."

Everyone looked nervously around and then looked back at her.

"What? It's blueberry! I'm a lot better at cooking, I swear! Besides, who can mess up tea?" Natalia yelled in protest.

Tear shakily brought a cup up to her lips and sipped before widening her eyes.

"It's actually good!" She said.

\Dammit, Luke, I know you can hear me.\

Luke was seriously starting to get frustrated with Asch. It was a strange turn of events that he was the one being annoyed and the fact that it was Asch's fault. He focused with all his strength to create some sort of barrier to block Asch from hearing his conversation with Natalia, only because he was afraid what she might say accidentally.

/Asch, you can't stop me, and you need to focus on your end. Bye for now./

Before he could protest, Luke seemed to manage a barrier that left his head empty. A wave of relief spread over him and he relaxed into the couch.

"Hey where'd Guy and Tear go?" Luke said as he finally stopped staring into space.

"They said they had to go to the library to find a book. Weren't you listening?" Natalia questioned while giving him a strange look.

"Oh, yeah. Natalia, I think I need to tell you what's been going on with me. And Asch. And you can't get mad, or upset because-" Luke started stumbling through his words but she cut him off.

"I won't get mad. I wish I could apologize to him; I didn't mean to say all those things. I just couldn't handle it right then. He knows that, right? Could you tell him for me?" She said quietly.

"Not right now. He's, um, he's asleep."

"Right. Start from the beginning because I want to hear everything. I promise not to get upset. And don't skip anything for my sake, because by the way he looked, you two have obviously been through a lot."

* * *

"Jade, you do realize how insane that girl is, right? Natalia is not fit to run a country, and I don't want to do business with them."

"You're forsaking thousands of people, though! Don't do it for her, do it for the citizens of Kimlasca!" Guy pleaded with him.

"They aren't cutting back on their energy usage one bit. Whatever I give them will be used up within a month, meanwhile we have taken precautionary measures to preserve what we have. I could consider agreement, maybe, if they started acting rationally. It's not like I want to hurt the citizens."

"That makes sense. Asch, please tell Luke this." Jade said.

/Peony says that Kimlasca needs to restrict their usage if they want to reach an agreement./

Asch had cut off all communication with Luke except for sending simple messages. He could tell Luke was upset about it, too, but he didn't care. He was beyond pissed at him, but he put it aside to deal with business instead.

\Natalia's a lot more reasonable now, Asch. I had to do it. Do I have to tell her now? She's with her...\

/Yes, we need an answer now./

Asch gritted his teeth and angrily waited on a response.

"Natalia says they've tried their best to do that. And her partner thinks that they shouldn't have to in the first place." Asch finally said.

"Hmph, see what I told you? Unreasonable people who are willing to ruin a country over their stubbornness." Peony said and folded his arms.

"Well, at least we're getting somewhere. Putting that issue aside for the moment, there is another pressing matter at hand." Jade said.

"Oh no, Jade, you sound so serious." Peony said completely unfazed.

"Yes, I do, don't I? Anyway, Dist has recreated Van's ideas in some scheme to create his own little world. This shouldn't be that big of a problem, but the fact Asch is here intact will all of his memories and personality means this is much bigger of a problem than it sounds. His replicas are stronger, more stable, and smarter than Van's."

"That sounds like something he'd do. Are you proposing that Malkuth and Kimlasca should join forces to destroy Dist's plan? Then we'll both get over our differences and become one big happy family? I don't see a problem as long as Kimlasca gets some common sense about this whole energy crisis. We need to be a united front against the Score hysteria, anyway."

/This is going a lot better than expected. In fact, it's going perfectly./

"That's perfect!" Guy exclaimed happily.

"Of course, you do realize you'll be the ones actually doing something about Dist. You seem to have the most experience in taking down maniacs." Peony said.

"I think we need to hold a formal conference and not another organized argument like last time." Asch said slowly while still staring off into space.

He was focused in on Luke and Natalia's conversation rather than the one he was involved it.

"Why don't we go now?" Guy said.

* * *

"Thank you for your cooperation." Jade said as Natalia's fiancé stalked out of the room.

Natalia, however, stayed in and managed not to glare at Peony's smug look.

"So, when are you guys going to take care of all of this?" Peony said as he kicked his feet up on the table.

This time, Natalia didn't hold back her disdainful look and and instead turned to talk to Luke.

"As soon as possible, I'm assuming." Guy said.

"Tomorrow it is! Rest up, everyone." He said and abruptly left.

It fell silent as they all looked around at each other with nervous glances.

"I'm coming with you." Natalia said fiercely.

"No way." Guy and Luke said in unison.

"You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do!" She shouted, already angry due to Peony's prods.

"Well, if we're leaving tomorrow, I need an hour or two to fix up Asch. Maybe longer." Tear said while sighing.

Everyone looked over at him and winced at the condition of his face, not even counting the scars elsewhere. He scowled and tried to push his hair to cover the bruises on his neck that the collar didn't cover, but he couldn't hide the black eye and scrapes along his face.

"It's not that bad." He muttered, and everyone rolled their eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know how you manage to do that to yourself." Tear murmured while standing up and dragging him off.

/I wonder if he's still mad at me. No, I know he is. He still won't fix the connection and right now it's completely gone again./

"Is he upset with me? He didn't even look over at me." Natalia said as Jade and Anise left the room.

"You know Asch could never be upset with you." Guy said reassuringly.

"You have to let me come with you. I was there for you with Van, and I'll be there through this."


	14. Cookie Caper

"I don't think it was a good idea to bring her along," Guy mumbled over to Luke.

They watched Natalia navigate her way to the port in an orderly fashion, leaving behind the group as she swerved out-of-the-way of citizens.

"What was I supposed to say?" Luke grumbled back.

Luke called out to her so that she would slow down, but Natalia was so far ahead she no longer could hear him over the yelling and protesting of people still clogging up the streets. He looked behind him to make sure they hadn't lost everyone else and realized that Asch still hadn't mended the connection between the two. He was angrily staring off at the ground, but maybe he was just trying to avoid another fight.

/Whatever Tear did certainly worked; he looks almost like he used to. Now if he could just eat more.../

Asch lifted his gaze from the ground and glanced over at Luke, but he couldn't tell whether he heard what he was thinking or if he'd just noticed that Luke had been staring at him. Luke slowed down long enough so that he could match Asch's pace and walk right next to him.

"When are you gonna stop being mad at me? You know I was right and-" Luke said coyly, but Asch just rolled his eyes and bumped him in the shoulder to get in front of him.

/He's either yelling and screaming or not saying a word at all. That can't be healthy./

"Luke, c'mon! Noelle is gonna leave without you!" Guy yelled from the end of the port.

* * *

"The night air in Keterburg sure is lovely, isn't it? We will be staying in Nephry's mansion since lodging is a bit sparse here nowadays." Jade said as he led them through the twilight.

Natalia remarked, "I'd planned on visiting, anyway. Malkuth was trying to call us a bunch of terrorists, can you believe that? Why would we slaughter hundreds of innocent-"

"That's enough, Natalia." Guy said sternly.

She stopped talking and looked around until she noticed Asch, who was straying a little farther away from the group. He was looking up at the ruins of the hotel with sullen eyes and his hands were clenched into tight fists. His hair fell in shadowed strands just like the rubble in the hotel had, both red and mangled. The chaos seemed to shake his figure in waves of guilt and anger, but all everyone saw on the outside was someone bracing themselves against the cold.

/He can't seem to block me out when he's too emotional; or maybe I've just gotten to know him well enough to know what's going on./

"Was he involved somehow?" Natalia asked quietly.

"It doesn't take an idiot to notice that." Anise grumbled from beside her.

Tear's eyes softened for the first time she'd joined the group, but she didn't make a comment.

/What is her problem with Asch, anyway?/

"You guys go on ahead, okay? I'm sure we'll be there soon." Luke said and began walking over to Asch.

"Don't stay out too late!" Jade called out merrily and coaxed the three nosey girls to leave.

Luke trudged through the new snow and found his way over to Asch who was hunched over on a bench. With an exasperated sigh, he took a seat next to him and said, "Asch?"

Asch didn't respond, he just pulled his eyes away from the building and tangled his hands further through his hair. Luke nudged him with his shoulder hoping for a response, but, instead, Asch just shifted farther away from Luke to the far end of the bench.

"Come on, Asch. It's not like you to be all depressed like this." Luke said playfully while punching his shoulder. He hit him hard enough to force Asch's elbow off it's resting place on his knee, which caused his head to dip to the left before he regained his balance.

/This isn't anything like Akzeriuth, and he has nothing to be sorry for. It's not his fault at all./

Asch pulled his hands out of his knotted hair and gave a glance over to Luke before stuttering out, "It's not that I feel guilty, Luke. I mean, I do, but not a point that I'd be visibly upset. It's just that, well, I can hear them."

"Hear what?"

He laid his head against the back of the bench while closing his eyes and suddenly the barrier between them broke. The connection between them flowed freely again, giving both partners massive headaches from all the pressure.

"The people in the hotel, they haven't realized they've died yet. They're all still here." Asch muttered while he draped an arm across his face.

Luke looked around and suddenly the whispers of children and harsh yells of adults were audible even though they had no source. It sounded almost as if there was a crowd of wailing voices, but they were all congealed around the ruins of the hotel. It was almost overwhelming to hear them all at once and he felt sick to his stomach.

"I was talking to this little boy earlier. He had no idea that he'd died, but I didn't know that, and then I asked him if he remembered dying. He disappeared, just like that, and didn't answer me."

/So that's what he was doing earlier./

"Could you, you know, see him?"

Asch didn't answer his question and sat there for a few more moments before picking himself up off the bench.

"Let's head back, because it's too damn cold to stay out here any longer." Asch muttered and held out a hand for Luke.

Luke graciously took his hand and didn't realize how far he was pulled until he was face down in the snow. Asch had dragged him right off the bench and launched into the snow without a second glance and began to walk away.

/That was cruel, even for him!/

Luke pulled his head out of the snow and shook off all the excess in his hair before he noticed Asch was still standing over him.

"Don't ever punch me again, got it?" Asch said angrily but this time he held out a genuine hand to help him up.

* * *

/How long can it take one person to shower?/

Asch rolled his eyes at the steam leaking out from under the bathroom door and laid back into the bed, although he soon came to the quick realization that sleep was definitely not going to happen tonight. With a loud sigh he pulled himself right back up again and looked around the modest room. Nephry seemed more than happy to give them all separate rooms, but Jade decided that it would be a better idea to pair up.

/More like he didn't want to leave me alone./

Suddenly he noticed something glistening on the table along with a piece of torn paper next to it. It was a little tray of something he assumed to be cookies, but he couldn't really tell through all the ornate icing details. He daintily picked up the note sitting next to it, but immediately rolled his eyes at the message he should have known was coming.

_Dear Asch;_

_Luke says you haven't been eating well so I made some cookies just for you. You'd better eat them, too, because I spent a lot of time baking them! Anyways, once you see how good of a cook I am, you'll rethink that marriage proposal, right?_

_Lots of Love, Anise_

Asch took one, small bite only to be hit with a wave of nausea from the clawing sweetness. He managed to swallow it without spitting it right back out, but there was no way he was even going to finish one of them.

/Luke told me she was a good cook, but I guess he's always been a fan of sweets. This seems way overboard, even for her./

The sugar made his head spin, probably from eating it on an empty stomach, and he stumbled over to the bed before carelessly collapsing on his back. The bed seemed much more inviting this time, and he felt as if he could sleep forever if he really wanted to. His eyes began to flutter shut, and a sedative feeling crept over his spine and down his arms.

It only took him a few seconds to realize what was happening and he yanked himself back up off the bed and to a standing position. Everything was hazy and swirling around him as if he'd been trapped in a washing machine. He had trouble keeping himself awake, much less upright, and leaned against a nearby wall for support.

/This is much more than a sugar rush. Shit, I've been drugged haven't I? God, I'm such an idiot!/

Asch let out a loud curse and tried to yell out to Luke, or anyone for that matter, but a strong hand clamped itself over his mouth. There was a cloth covering his nose and mouth that prevented any air to enter and replaced it with the bitter taste of harsh chemicals.

"I'm sorry we had to do this, Asch." A mournful voice called out to his left.

/Arietta?/

His legs shook until he lost the will to stand, and he collapsed back into the person behind him. They buckled under his weight, but still didn't pull the cloth away until his head slumped into his shoulder. His eyes flickered shut and suddenly everything went black.

"Come along, Arietta."

* * *

Luke wrung his hair out for a second time, but eventually he gave up and wrapped it up in a towel. After stepping out of the bathroom, he didn't bother looking around and instead jumped into bed.

/I haven't slept well in a really long time, but I feel like I'm going to sleep forever. I wonder if Asch has already fallen asleep?/

"Asch, did you cut off the connection again? Because it's either that, or you're thinking about nothing, which is weird, because there's always something on your mind. Even if you're sleeping, you're still worrying about something."

He opened his eyes and looked over at Asch's side bed, only to find that it was empty.

"Asch?" Luke asked and looked around the room.

/What's that on the table?/

Luke hopped right back out of bed and read the note placed on the table, only to toss it aside. His eyes were gleaming at the nicely decorated cookies, but he stopped short of biting into one when he realized that this wasn't something Anise usually did. In fact, it didn't look like Anise's cooking at all.

/That doesn't even look like her usual handwriting. I bet she and Guy are playing a prank, like putting curry powder or hot sauce in them. Asch is probably over there yelling at them now./

He placed the cookie down and leisurely walked down the hall to Anise, Natalia, and Tear's room. After a couple weak knocks, Luke started violently tapping on the door but still didn't get a response from the girls' room.

Suddenly the door next to their room opened, and a sleepy, but angry, Guy barged out.

"Luke what is your problem?" Guy whispered angrily.

"Well, I thought you were in on the prank with Anise, and I thought Asch would be down here yelling at you guys." Luke answered in a very puzzled tone.

"What prank? What are you even talking about?" Guy groaned, obviously very exasperated.

Suddenly the girls' door flung open and a red-faced Natalia burst through the entrance.

"Is three in the morning the best time to have a friendly conversation? And what** is** your problem, Luke? Why are you waking everyone up?" She yelled.

"Well, I thought," Luke whimpered, but Guy cut him off.

"He thinks we're all pranking Asch. Well, Anise and I." Guy said in a sarcastic tone.

Tear suddenly pushed past Natalia and got in Luke's face while yelling, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Everyone went silent until Luke whimpered out, "I just thought that..."

Tear raised her hands up in the air and yelled, "You just thought what? You thought it'd be funny to wake us all up?"

"Well then who put the cookies in our room?" Luke yelled back.

"What are you even talking about?" Guy muttered and rubbed his temples.

Anise suddenly walked out of the doorway while rubbing her eyes and innocently asked, "What's going on?"

"Anise, finally! Where you the one who put the note and the-" Luke asked, but was cut off this time by Jade who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Does anyone know where Asch is at this point?" Jade asked, but was ignored by the angry insults everyone was spewing at Luke.

"I didn't put a note anywhere, Luke. When would I have time to bake something? Where would I even get the supplies to?" Anise grumbled and trailed off into a long line of insults.

"Do you ever even think? I mean, honestly, why would we even do this in the first place?" Tear remarked while sighing.

"Wait, then who did?" Guy asked quietly.

* * *

"See? Right here. And the note is somewhere on the floor, I accidentally dropped it." Luke said as they all gathered into his room.

After a few moments of searching, he found it laying beneath the bed next to a piece of white cloth. He picked up both articles and handed the note over to Jade while still inspecting the piece of ripped fabric.

/It has a weird smell to it, almost like-/

"Don't smell that!" Jade yelled and snatched the cloth out of Luke's hand.

"What, why? What's wrong?" Luke answered alarmed.

"Chloroform. I can smell it from all the way over here. Anise, do you recognize this note?" Jade said and passed it over to her.

"No way this is mine. My handwriting is a lot cuter, and besides, these cookies are all wrong. Not only is the icing too thick, they smell like pure sugar and vanilla syrup."

"The strong scent and sugar probably masked whatever narcotics were hidden in it. The only reason he didn't spit it out is most likely because he didn't want to upset you, Anise." Tear murmured as she picked one of the cookies up and broke it in half.

"It looks like we're leaving early." Jade said with a distasteful frown and exited the room.

"I wonder how long he's been gone?" Natalia murmured and followed Jade's lead.

Tear walked over to Luke and placed her hand on his shoulder while giving a quick apology for yelling.

"I can't believe my cooking was compared to such trash!" Anise yelled and angrily stomped her way back to the room to change.

/Asch, I hope you're okay./

* * *

Asch's eyes fluttered open, but he couldn't see anything but swift, white currents. He realized he was laying on his back, and even though he wasn't moving, they were covering ground quickly across the white landscape. He shifted his head to the left and saw Arietta was staring right back at him with her knees folded in and a gloomy look plastered over her face.

/It seems like we're traveling in a wagon, no doubt being pulled by Arietta's monsters. They didn't even bother to tie me up, which means I have the upper hand if I can just-/

Suddenly a blunt object connected with the back of his head and he couldn't even fight against the slip into darkness.

"Arietta, what did I tell you? He can contact anyone within a matter of seconds, so you have to keep watch while I try to make sure we don't fall off these trails."

"Right, sorry. I didn't notice."

* * *

"I've been doing a lot of research into this facility myself, and it is supposedly a packaging building for a local food company. The problem is that the company doesn't have any record of the building, and there aren't any shipments in or out of the building either. What's important, however, is that a couple trails that service vehicles supposedly travel on which means we don't have to go searching around in the dark." Jade said as he traced the map with his finger.

"Is it really okay to go run around in the middle of the night? You do realize how cold it is, right?" Guy said.

"Do we really have any other choice?" Natalia murmured despondently.

"We can probably still catch up to them if we hurry, right? I mean, we already have a coach ready for the morning." Anise said.

"Hey!" Luke yelled out from nowhere, and everyone looked over at him.

"What?" Guy said slowly.

"Asch, he was awake for a moment! He's outside still, and he noticed Arietta. And then-" Luke stopped talking and started rubbing the back of the head.

"Someone knocked him out again, huh?" Anise said.

"He just can't catch a break, can he?" Guy said while grinning.

Jade cleared his throat and remarked, "Well, in any case, we'd better get bundled up and head out before Dist can get ahold of him. That's when the real trouble begins."

Everyone looked around nervously, but didn't say anything else on the matter. Luke was the first one to make a move to leave, and everyone slowly followed after him until they gathered around the coach.

"I'm assuming Jade and I are the only ones who know how to drive this, right?" Guy said.

* * *

"We're going to have to walk the rest of the way to avoid suspicion." Guy said as he pulled the carriage off the trail.

The sun was already coming up, which meant they were going to be easy to spot within the hour. Luke had stayed unusually quiet because it made it easier to concentrate on any signals Asch might send him. They'd all been quiet, in fact; it seemed like everyone was trapped in their own thoughts.

It was a quick scale down the rest of the pathway since the roads had been flattened by the excessive use. It seemed like there was little to none security within the area, which the group was thankful for. The shadow the building created also provided extra shelter from any wandering eyes.

/Who would come out all this way, anyway? I doubt they get many visitors./

"That's one tall building." Anise remarked as she looked straight up at the looming facility.

"Asch and I were on the top floor, because I remember going down that fire escape over here. Huh, they still haven't fixed it from where Asch fell off." Luke said thoughtfully.

"Asch fell off the fire escape ladder?" Everyone said at the same time, except for Jade who didn't seem fazed at all.

"Did I never mention that? I guess it didn't seem important since I caught him. Anyway, I'm guessing that's the best place to start." Luke said.

"He could be on any floor; I doubt they'd keep him in the same place." Tear responded.

"Dist isn't known for being cunning, in fact, the thought probably hasn't even crossed his mind. Even so, we should probably split up since time is of the essence." Jade said.

"So, I'll go with Jade, and Anise can go with Natalia, and Luke and Tear can take the top floor. We'll just disable the fire alarm and sneak in through the different floors. Then, in about an hour, we'll all meet up outside and see if anyone found anything." Guy replied and everyone nodded their head in response.

* * *

"This floor is empty, in fact, the entire building sounds empty! I guess there was no point in sneaking in." Anise grumbled as she sorted through the empty desks.

"It's all just research on fonons and nothing I understand." Natalia murmured as she searched through a file cabinet.

"Ooh, what's this?" Anise said excitedly.

There was a locked drawer in one of the file cabinets, which was odd since everything else was so open and easy to reach. Anise sorted through a desk nearby until she found a ring of keys and started systematically trying each one on the lock.

"Anise?" Natalia asked while biting her lip.

"What is it?" She asked even though she was partly tuning her out to focus on the lock.

"What if we don't find him? What if he doesn't-" She stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"You didn't care a couple of days ago. Besides, Asch seems to survive through anything." Anise grumbled.

"I didn't know what to think. I shouldn't have said all those things when I knew I didn't mean them, I just-"

"Why are you telling me this? You should be telling him. He's a mess over you, you know? The longer you wait, the worse it's going to get for the both of you. If he hasn't moved on already, of course." Anise replied.

"What if I don't get the chance to? Anise, it's too late already; they've had enough time to use him to create as many replicas as they want! There's no way anyone's body could withstand that, not even-" Natalia cried out.

"Stop it! Stop acting like you're the only one who cares! He matters to all of us, not just you!" Anise whimpered in a shaky voice while hiding her face from Natalia. She hated the way she always ended up crying, and it was even worse when she was doing it in front of someone else.

Suddenly the drawer popped open and Anise let out a cry of success through her tears. She pulled out the lone folder in the drawer and started sorting through the many leaflets and papers.

"It's just a bunch of research on the planetary fonic arte. But didn't we take care of that mess a while ago? Surely no one would do it again and let that monster back out." Anise said slowly, then glanced up at Natalia who was giving her the same shocked look.

"You don't think that she's in this building do you?" Natalia gasped.

"This is bad news, especially for Asch. Come on, we have to go find the others!" Anise said and made a dash for the door.

* * *

Asch suddenly got thrown back into awareness and a bright, florescent light blinded him. After a few moments, he looked over to his left and right but only saw white space.

/It's just like the first time I woke up./

He tried to pull himself up only to realize he'd been belted down to a hospital bed. His wrists and ankles had been tied down to the point of cutting off circulation, not to mention the tight strap across his chest that made breathing a chore.

/What's going on? How long was I out, and more importantly, what happened while I was unconscious?/

Suddenly he heard the click of a door opening and someone silently let himself in.

"What's going on?" Asch yelled out into the tiny space, but all that seemed to come out of his mouth was a hoarse whisper.

"Oh, don't worry, this is the last dose. It's a shame you didn't sleep longer so you wouldn't have to feel it." A chilly voice answered from behind him.

/Last dose? Of what?/

Asch did his best to look around the room and finally saw a tray behind his head in his peripheral vision. It had four empty needles and a bottle of antiseptic next to it, along with a cloth, covered in little splotches of blood.

The man suddenly walked forward and gave him a bone-chilling smile before tightening the strap directly above Asch's elbow in order to make him stop squirming.

"It shouldn't be long before all the other drugs begin to work through your system. Besides, a little heroin never hurt anyone. You'll be thanking me later."

Asch looked down at his arm in horror and saw that he already had multiple sores right in the joint between his elbow and upper arm. The man took no mercy and impaled him with the needle directly into the vein. It only took seconds for the clear liquid to drain out of the syringe and into his arm. He made quick work of pulling it out and cleaned it off before putting it back on the tray.

"B-bastard!" Asch hissed while still struggling to free his arm.

/I can already feel the waves of numbness consuming over my body. Thinking is so difficult at this point; my head feels like it's slowing down to a complete stop. I don't even think this is the effect from the heroin, either. What the hell did they do to me?/

"Do you really not remember me? I'm a little hurt." The man sneered as he began to walk out of the room.

Asch's eyes widened and he slurred out, "Hey, come back here you bastard! Why the hell did you try to kill me?"

"Oh, that? It was just supposed to be a simple test. You were only supposed to make the decision and then I would sedate you anyway. Just checking to see the progress your emotional and rational thought had changed. You're the one who let it get out of hand."

The door clicked shut, and a silence overtook the room once again.

/It's so quiet I can hear the ringing in my ears, actually, it's so loud that it's actually hurting my ears. Luke, can you hear me? Please answer, I don't have much time left./

He could feel his face starting to go numb, and he was losing feeling throughout the rest of his body just as quickly. What little feeling was left seemed to be influenced by the frigid room, giving Asch cold shivers up and down his spine. There were intermittent periods of it being too hot and too cold at the same time that caused him to shake and sweat.

/Do people really do this for fun? It feels like my skull is splitting open./

\Asch, where are you? We're inside the building now! Well, technically we aren't because we're all meeting outside. What's wrong?\

He seemed to be moving in slow motion while the world around him was speeding up; Luke's words were coming out so quickly and Asch couldn't seem to create a response. A strange heaviness seemed to force his head to slump over on his shoulder and relax into the bed while his eyes were squinting to see around the bright room. The light seemed stronger than before, and the dull glow converted to a prism of different colors that were reflecting off the walls. The different colors seemed to bathe the wall in fresh stripes of orange and red with blotches of blue and purple. The yellow and green seemed to muddle themselves between the other colors and weren't very visible.

Asch knew it had to be the drugs; he was still in the same white room and he still had to find an escape.

/I have to focus./

\Asch, answer me! What's going on?\

/A white room.../

He closed his eyes as the colors on the walls started dripping down the walls in muddy browns and blacks. The room turned dark and grotesque as the black streams seemed to coat the walls in grime and slip out through the tiles on the floor.

\We're going to need more than that if we're going to find you!\

/Drugs.../

Once the black mud had dissolved from the walls, it uncovered a horrible red mess left on the walls. The walls were caked with thick stains of maroon and the drywall beneath it looked burnt and distorted.

\You have to hold on! Jade says you have to try to find anything, even if it seems unimportant. We have to have something to go on.\

/I think I'm in the same room from before, if I'm not hallucinating./

Asch lazily reopened his eyes and tried to avoid looking at the bloody walls. There really was nothing in the room except the tray behind him, so he tried to focus his attention as best he could. He blinked twice when he realized there was someone else in the room; a little boy with a gloomy, grey hue to his skin was holding tight onto the needles that were once on the tray. Asch could see right through the boy's translucent skin, which meant he was one of the many ghosts still lingering around Keterburg.

\Is there anything else?\

"I need that." Asch said hoarsely, but he couldn't tell if he was even talking.

"You can't have it unless you promise to find me!" The boy yelled back and gripped on tighter to the needles and papers.

"Find you? Who are you?" Asch replied quietly.

"You know me. If you promise to not forget me, I'll tell you what this says."

/Is he the boy from earlier? No, he looks much more different./

"Okay, I promise." Asch replied and gave him a genuine smile.

/Class A, Heroin (Diamorphine) 500 mg. The rest of them just have the same name written on them and a different drug./

\Heroin, are you serious? Is there anything else at all? You have to stay with me!\

"What does that sheet say that you have right there?" Asch asked as his eyes started to close.

"You really have to find me, or else I'll be stuck here forever." The boy replied while ignoring his request.

"Are you one of the bodies from Keterburg? I'll search through the entire hotel to find you." Asch replied weakly.

/It looks like a schedule: Sector B... Then something followed by the number 21...I don't think I'm going to be in this room for much longer. /

"No, I'm not from Keterburg. I'll see you later, though." The boy smirked and dissolved back through one of the destroyed walls.

Suddenly Asch's vision began to tunnel and he felt himself begin to spiral into a thick blackness, almost like a sea of mud. He was desperately trying to keep his head above the choppy water, but his air seemed to be filled with thick curls of mud.

\Asch? Asch, we're going to find you! You're going to be okay! Don't give up!\

/Shut the channel before you're dragged down too.../

* * *

Luke suddenly realized he'd been yelling out loud and looked around at the worried glances he was getting from everyone else.

"He's gone." Luke said quietly.

Suddenly a wave of numbness overtook his body and he immediately lost control of his legs. Guy managed to catch him before he face-planted into the ground and held on tight to his trembling body.

Tear kneeled next to Luke and felt his forehead before whispering, "Oh, no."

Luke's eyes looked as if they were rolling into the back of his head and he pulled his hands over his face while talking incoherently.

"Luke, can you hear me? You have to cut off all communication with Asch. You have to shut it off before you go under, too." Jade said sternly while holding on to Luke's chin so he'd be forced to focus on him.

"I can't leave him all alone!" Luke whined back and his eyes slowly began to flutter closed.

"Shut it now!" Jade shouted back and gave him a harsh slap to the face.

Luke didn't answer for a moment until he completely collapsed into Guy who was still holding him up.

"Did we lose him?" Guy asked somberly.

Suddenly Luke shot up from Guy's arms and began gasping for air as if he'd been drowning. After a few moments he suddenly noticed how everyone was staring and murmured, "I'm fine."

"How come this hasn't happened before? I mean, Asch passes out all the time but Luke never seems to." Anise questioned.

"I'm guessing Asch has some sort of way to prevent that, but as intoxicated as he was, any failsafe system he'd invented was probably destroyed, and thus it was up to Luke to close it this time." Jade answered.

"So, Luke, you can't contact him anymore. We have all the information we're probably going to get at this point." Tear said.

"But what did any of that nonsense actually mean?" Guy said as he helped Luke up off the ground.


	15. Coffee

"Are you sure this is the right room?" Guy asked through heavy breaths.

"I'm positive! I was down that hall, and this was the room that was smoking, so Asch had to have been in this one!" Luke replied as he bent over and rested his hands on his knees.

"Smoking?" Natalia murmured.

"So they've already moved him. Now what?" Tear asked.

They all looked toward Jade for some sort of plan, but he seemed as confused as they all were. Suddenly he snapped out of his daze and suggested that they follow the directions Asch had given them.

"Where is this Sector B, or whatever 21 place we're supposed to be going to, exactly?" Anise asked.

Luke looked around the hall for any sort of clue until he saw an engraved plate next to the door's entrance.

/It says level 20, but nothing about a sector. Wait, if this is the top floor, then where is level 21 supposed to be?/

"That sign over there says we're on floor 20, but that means that the floor Asch is on doesn't exist!" Luke said.

"What if it's a basement floor? Maybe Dist started numbering the floors on the ground level ones, and then he didn't want a floor zero or negative one for the basement, so he just continued on counting!" Guy said.

/And Jade says I'm stupid./

"That sure does sound like him." Everyone sighed in unison.

"We don't have much time left to talk, then." Jade said and then began a hasty retreat down the stairs.

Everyone gave a determined look towards one another and began to race down the stairs.

* * *

/My head is throbbing./

Asch opened his eyes from his hazy slumber and realized he was in a new, unfamiliar room. His head was still spinning from the drugs, but he'd acquired a new headache to go along with it. Instead of the numbness that had spread across his body earlier, he felt like a hollowed out doll, unable to move or think.

He slowly rubbed his eyes and looked around his new prison. This room was larger than the one before, and it was also much more dim with only one weak light to fill the entire space. The only problem that he was facing was that he couldn't seem to stretch out more than a measly two or three feet, not to mention it looked like he was leaning on thin air.

/A glass wall? No, it's not just a wall; it's surrounding me./

A thick piece of molded glass surrounded the small space he was sitting on, leaving about three feet of space in any direction. It connected to the ceiling and the floor with large metal pieces, creating an impenetrable cylinder all around him. The glass met the metal a couple of feet away from the ceiling and was sealed with plenty of tight bolts. He realized he was sitting on one of the metal pieces, too, although this one was only a foot off the ground.

/What's the point of all of this?/

The dim lighting made it impossible to see the room, although the glare from the light helped him realize he was surrounded by glass. He carefully braced his hands on the floor and pulled himself to a trembling stand so that he could get a better look around, but slipped back to the ground when he took his weight off his hands. The small glimpse he'd gotten allowed him to see a glare much like the one on his own prison, but directly across the room.

/Is there someone else in here?/

He squinted into the abyss of the room, but was only given a larger headache. With a weary sigh, he rested his head against the glass and the new viewpoint allowed him to see there were a lot of pipes and wires he hadn't noticed before. They seemed to lead to the other side of the room, carelessly draped down from the top metal piece until the wires eventually swept across the floor into the abyss.

/The wires at the bottom of my cylinder probably lead to another one across the room. It makes an hourglass shape, doesn't it? But what does it mean?/

Asch continued to look around the room until he flinched in surprise as his own face greeted him on the left wall. He let out a gasp of relief when he realized it was just a mirror, but then again, why would they need a mirror in the first place?

The mirrored wall wasn't too far away, in fact, he could see himself quite clearly through it. Not that that was good thing.

Dark circles seemed to drown out his entire face except for two dimming green eyes looking back at him with the same fear he was feeling. His eyes were bordering on grey due to the lack of color, causing his red hair to stand out against his hollowed out face. The brilliant maroon seemed to overtake his pale skin and shadowed bones. All the colors started to blend the more he looked at the mirror creating a dark horror that resembled a demon.

Asch cringed and turned to sit facing the side of the room he hadn't explored yet, although it did him no good since it was so dark.

/I guess I'm used to looking like a mess. I wonder if it's a one way mirror?/

"It won't do you any good to die here, will it?"

He swung his head around and saw the same little boy tapping on the glass with an uninterested look on his face. Asch opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence.

"If you die, you'll be stuck here with me. It's scary being all alone in a world of people who can't hear you. The living world isn't that much different in that way, is it?" He said while twirling his hair.

"You sure do have long hair for being so young." Asch weakly said as he watched the grey hue begin to braid the black strands.

The boy suddenly flashed over a devious, red-eyed glare and said, "It's almost time for the show to begin. I'd tell all your little friends to escape the building now if they want to live. Make sure to keep your promise!"

Suddenly, the boy disappeared into the black of the room, although his red eyes still lingered for a moment along with his white grin made of sharp teeth.

No matter how hard Asch tried to reach Luke, the connection stayed dead. He could feel a faint whisper of Luke's thoughts, but would almost immediately lose it afterward.

/I guess I'm going to just have to push my way right through. I wouldn't blame him for cutting it off, though, since I didn't get around to it to last time./

* * *

"Man, we've been running through this basement for ages! Everywhere we turn is a dead-end!" Anise cried out as they ran into another empty hall.

"Leave it to Dist to create an underground catacomb beneath a building." Luke mumbled as they turned around and headed the other direction.

As they began running again, a stab of pain abruptly assaulted the back of Luke's mind, followed by a pounding migraine. He stopped walking and put his hands over his face almost as if he was trying to hide from the pain, but there was no escape.

\-uke?\

Luke's eyes widened when he remembered the nostalgic pain; it was when either when Asch or Lorelei contacted him. It'd been so long that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like, although that was probably a good thing compared to the amount of pain he was in.

/Asch! We're trying to find you now! This basement is a mess, but I'm sure we're almost-/

\That doesn't matter at this point. You need to get yourself out of the building now. There's nothing left for you to do except save yourself.\

He lifted his hands away from his face and looked around in shock, only to realize he'd been forgotten. Everyone had continued their way through the maze, leaving him behind.

/Everyone left without me, those jerks! But, Asch, I'm not leaving without you!/

\You've wasted too much time already. Get the hell out of there now! I'll tell Jade, now get going!\

Suddenly the connection snapped shut, and Luke was left all alone in the dusty basement.

/Can you not have two conversations going at once? Well, this is just great. I am lost, I don't have a light, and I'm all alone./

A sharp tug at the back of his shirt pulled him out of his melancholy attitude and he drew his sword even before he turned around.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy!" The voice replied from somewhere in the darkness.

"Is that you, Sync? I swear, when I find you I'm gonna-" Luke squinted into the darkness while raising his sword.

"We really don't have time for this. Here." Sync said while fumbling with some metallic object.

Suddenly a little flame attempted to fill the darkness until it grew large enough to fill the lantern with bright light. Sync braved a grin and held out a hand, but Luke slapped it away and pointed his sword at Sync's head.

"I'm the only one who knows their way out of this building! You either kill me here and die alongside me, or we both make it out alive. Your choice."

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but a shrill voice from down the hall called out, "Is that you Luke? Why aren't you running!"

"Anise?" He asked as she breezed past and up the stairs in front of him.

Everyone else shortly followed Anise, except Jade stopped by him and said, "Sync, if you know the way out of here, I'd be much obliged if you'd lead us. I have parts of the way memorized mind you, so if you try to lead us off course in a mass suicide I'll just leave you behind."

"Everyone here is so friendly." Sync said while laughing and raced ahead of Anise to illuminate the slippery dirt floors.

"Wait, Jade, what about Asch?" Luke called out as he began to run after him.

"It's like he said, there's nothing we can do at this point but save ourselves. I'm assuming he didn't tell you the whole truth, but I'll fill you in once we're safe. Now, move!"

* * *

Asch gave out a sigh of relief when he managed to contact Jade and actually convince him to leave. Luke had been no help, like usual, although he needed to talk to him one last time before it would be too late.

/Luke, are you escaping now?/

\Against my own will; Tear and Anise aren't letting me go back! What didn't you tell me? What's going on?\

/I just wanted to say thank you./

\Thank me? For what? What's going on?\

The entire room began to slowly glow until an intricate fonic glyph was visible. Soft pinks and sparkling blues crept out of the etched tiles on the ground and roof, both colors fighting for attention. The patterns were two six-pointed glyphs around his cylinder and the one that was across the room. His glyph was much more azure than the one on the other side of the room which was a deep fuchsia. In between both of their glyphs was a third one, and although it was drawn exactly like the other two, this one was a deep purple.

/Thanks for being there for me through this hell, I guess. I treated you like shit in my previous life, and for some reason, you gave me a second chance this time around./

The mirror on the right wall wasn't the only one; there were more mirrors scattered throughout the room, reflecting the same blue pattern surrounding Asch and the pink one on the other end of the room into the center of the room between he and the other person.

/Traveling with you idiots, even though it's been such a short time, was probably one of the happiest times in all of my life./

Asch could finally see the woman in the other cylinder and she was a lot less defeated than he was. He'd managed to barely stand up, although he was cheating by leaning against the glass for support. Instead, she was banging and kicking on the glass while screaming insults.

\Asch, what's going on? There has to be a way out of it, there always is! You'd never give up, even if it was hopeless! Asch!\

The woman seemed to realize her fate and stopped kicking. She had tears in her eyes and Asch could make out her saying the words 'I'm sorry', even though he couldn't hear her.

/Goodbye./

Asch snapped the channel shut and left Luke no hope in reopening it.

This was the end.

* * *

They were all sitting on the snowy ground while the giant building in front of thing started to crack and sway. A few seconds later, the bottom floors collapsed in on themselves as the ground began to rumble and shake. It didn't take long for the rest of the building to follow the plunge down to the snow.

A cloud of dust and rocks shot out from the rubble and left the entire area a smoky haze. They were far enough to not get caught up in the debris, but the shuddering ground didn't cease to quit vibrating.

"What's going on down there?" Anise whispered once the dust had finally begun to dissolve.

"Dist has unleashed the planetary fonic arte, but he's done it in reverse. We have to get out of here, it's only minutes till it envelops the entire area. We were too late." Jade said bitterly and began angrily walking off from the group.

"Reverse planetary fonic arte?" Natalia asked as they all began walking to the hidden carriage.

"All the planetary fonic arte is using the planet's mass in an arte. I'm assuming it can be used for anything, like the way it sealed Nebilim away. All you need are that catalysts, but if Dist has those, then that means that the monster hidden in the Roneal Mountains is loose." Guy replied quietly.

Luke turned around and saw a bright beam of light, first small, then growing out slowly in a circular form. The light seemed to be disintegrating the ground and rubble directly in its path, creating dark particles that dissolves almost instantly.

/It looks like a hyperresonance, but ten times stronger. It's all over for him, isn't it?/

"He said goodbye. He knew he was going to die." Luke murmured to himself as he kept his eyes locked on the ground.

"You don't know that. Luke, you can't blame yourself for what happened." Tear said quietly before putting her hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged his shoulder until he was free of her touch and then muttered, "You hated him the whole time. Don't even act like you care now."

"Do you even know what it's like, seeing my brother alive again? Asch just reminded me of everything that's happened, I couldn't even look at him in the eyes without seeing the ghost of Van's-"

"That's enough." Guy said sternly and pushed his way in between the two. They both were tearing up, but quickly turned away from each other as they climbed back in the carriage after Natalia and Anise.

"It seems as if Sync is gone again. I have a feeling he'll be showing up again soon, so everyone be on your guard for the rest of the night." Jade said before walking to the front.

Natalia began to break out in all out sobs when Guy shut the door for them, while Anise kept protesting her tears when anyone looked over at her.

/Goodbye, Asch./

* * *

"We're spending the night at Nephry's again, and then we're heading back out there in the morning. Dist should be well underway, if not completely finished with his scheme at that point, but we can't risk getting involved in that arte. There's always space in our room, Luke, if you don't want to sleep alone." Jade said, but softened his speech near the end.

"I'm fine, really." Luke said, even though he didn't hear a word Jade said.

He didn't wait around for anyone else's condolences and headed down the hall to his room.

After locking the door, Luke took a slow look around. It looked the same as before; even his towel was still left on the ground. He stumbled over to pick it up and carefully hung it over the bathroom door.

/Asch hated how messy I was./

It only took a few seconds for Luke to realize how tired he was. The bed was so inviting that it only took a few seconds before he collapsed in the middle with his feet still hanging off the edge. He didn't even bother to take off his jacket or shoes; his hands were too shaky and numb.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, an odd smell suddenly seemed to surround him. He sat up and sniffed a couple of times, but couldn't seem to put his finger on what it exactly was.

"Burnt coffee?" He murmured while investigating the room.

Eventually he found an extremely cold cup of black coffee on the nightstand on Asch's side of the bed.

He was afraid to touch it, almost as if he would ruin the very memory of Asch by getting near it. It was the only thing really left of him, but to anyone else it was just an old cup of coffee. Asch never really owned anything, did he?

/It's just a cup of coffee./

He finally took a trembling hand and picked it up before walking over to the bathroom sink. Pouring it out seemed like a whole new challenge to him, but at the rate he was shaking the cup he'd probably already spilled half of it.

/Just a cup of coffee./

On an impulse, he poured it out and cleaned it excessively, much more than he should have. His hands felt raw from scrubbing it, and he bit his lip to fight back the tears.

/He was never just another person to me./

* * *

It was all so blurry that the entire room was a mess of dancing colors and bright white. His eyes kept going in and out of focus when he tried to think at all; he was on the verge of passing out with no return back into the light.

He vaguely remembered hitting his head when he dropped to the floor, but the all over pain was almost unbearable. It seemed like all the drugs they'd given him left him numb on the outside to the frost and flames that had crawled across his skin for the hours he'd been stuck in the prison, but on the inside he felt it. All they really did was prevent him from screaming in pain.

It turned out that the planetary fonic arte worked in stages; going through each fonon is such a mass quantity until it cycled through the glyph. And instead of using the different catalyst weapons, the arte just used Asch.

The first was shadow; sending his entire body and sight into a thick, velvet darkness. It consumed his mind and ate away at his thoughts until all there was left was an unbearable sadness. The howls and moans of lost souls filled his head with pleas for help and blood-curdling screams as they continued to re-live their deaths. If he'd had the ability to move, he would have gladly taken his own life along with them.

"Dear God, he's still awake." Some blurry figure gasped as he squatted next to him on the other side of the glass.

The second was earth; it was much more bearable than the first but not by much. He'd been knocked to the floor with this one as gravity pulled him as far down as the the metal would let him. His lungs almost collapsed from the pressure and he spent most of the time unconscious from lack of oxygen.

"He's pretty unresponsive, and I doubt he'll make it much longer with the rate his fonons should be unraveling." The other figure said as he tapped on the glass.

The third was wind; creating a tornado-like storm within the small chamber. The bruises we're already forming from the way he'd been knocked around from it, not to mention the broken bones.

"Should we take him off to the infirmary with Nebilim?"

The fourth was water; it was pretty obvious what happened then. The water seemed to fill his lungs and entire body, leaving him gasping for air and throwing up the salty water until he could take a breath. The water was mixed with blood due to the way it destroyed his throat and lungs, making every breath after the fonon had long since left a stabbing pain. Near the end all the water froze over and covered his skin with ice; but at least he could breathe.

"Ouch, look at those scorch marks. How did his hair manage to survive that? I guess the ends are a little burnt, but still!"

If he thought about what happened next, he'd certainly pass out from the mind numbing anxiety. From what he could remember, there were flames all over him, clawing at his skin. Oddly enough, they stayed away from his face.

Someone was pulling on him, forcing him to stand up. He thought he was stable at first even though he couldn't see anything, but he swayed forward and backward until he fell face first back on the ground. His eyes wouldn't open enough to see what was happening, but he tried to pull himself up before anyone could help him.

/I can still escape./

Instead, his arms gave out and a stab of pain knocked the breath out of his lungs. His arms began shaking until they gave out completely and he collapsed right back on the floor. All the air in his lungs was knocked out, and he laid there with his head pressed to the floor.

"Someone is going to have to carry him. I would, but my gorgeously slim frame isn't made for such disgusting manual labor." Dist said while holding out his hand to inspect his nails.

/Way to care, you bastard./

The fonon of light was one of the hardest to fight. He could feel himself getting pulled out of his body and to a painless, warm space, but he knew if he left his body, he would ever be coming back.

Someone was carrying him, or he assumed because he was moving. His entire body was tingling and numb, and he couldn't seem to open his eyes. He let his head fall back as it seemed like too much effort to try to keep himself up.

"If he dies while I'm carrying him, you definitely have to pay me overtime."

"If you insist." Dist sighed.

The seventh fonon was much like the sixth; it tried to coax him into a deep slumber with soft and haunting lullabies that tried to mend his broken bones. When it realized he wasn't going to succumb to the melodies, all his bones seemed to snap again and a ringing in his ears grew louder and louder until both of his eardrums burst and he passed out once again, only to return to the situation he was in.

"How is she?" Dist gasped as he ran ahead of him.

/When did we get here?/

"She's stable. But how come she's the one of the few affected by the arte and the rest of us aren't?" A male voice said.

/Everyone in the area was affected?/

"You're the doctor, shouldn't it be obvious? She's a replica; the rush of seventh fonons that were added to the arte combined with her own, which is painful, mind you."

Suddenly he felt eyes on him and a silence fell over the room until the same voice finally spoke up and said, "Is he dead?"

"Not yet." Asch said weakly, but didn't open his eyes.

Everyone in the room jumped back a couple of feet and whoever was holding him let go out of surprise.

The jostle to the back of his head as he hit the concrete made it impossible to see through the whirling of the room around him, and he blacked out almost instantly.

"Eh, thats not good. Check his fonon levels, would you? I'm going to see if any of the other replicas made it."

* * *

"So how do we get down there?" Anise said as she looked over the edge of a giant, black hole in the ground.

/It's so deep you can't see the bottom./

"I'm sure Asch would have some fancy arte to take us down." Guy murmured as he looked over the edge too.

"Well we're just going to have to do it the old-fashioned way, aren't we? Someone's going to have to stay up here and secure the rope." Jade said as he held up a thick coil of rope.

"Can't we just tie it to a tree?" Anise said as she walked over to a nearby pine tree.

"We could, but if the rope comes untied or breaks, we need someone to be able to get help or at least recover our bodies." Jade said cheerfully.

"Well I'm too weak for that. Maybe Tokanaga could, but that's a stretch." Anise said.

"There's no way I'm staying here." Luke said fiercely.

"I'm one of the only healers, so if we get into a fight, which we always seem to be doing, you'll definitely need me there." Tear said.

"So it's down to Guy and Natalia." Jade replied.

"I'm going!" Guy and Natalia said in unison, before looking over at each other angrily.

"There's a good chance that Asch's dead body is down there, Natalia. I think you should sit this one out." Luke muttered.

Everyone looked stunned at such a horrible comment, and no one dared to look over in Natalia's direction. Instead, they all focused upset and angry glares over at Luke.

"Why would you say something like-" Anise gasped, anger and sorrow filling her voice.

"I'm just being honest!" Luke yelled over Anise, even though he sounded just as mournful as her.

Natalia didn't reply, she just began tying the rope with shaky hands and quiet tears.

"I'm sorry Natalia." Luke murmured quietly.

Jade cleared his throat over the silence that had fallen over the group and said, "Shall we get going?"


	16. Doppelgängers

"It seems as if the underground maze was destroyed too!" Anise said happily as she jumped off the end of the rope to the metal ground.

It'd felt like they'd climbed for hours; the maze probably stretched a couple of miles down, and was far too big to ever get through in the first place. When they finally reached the bottom, a metal platform seemed to cover the entire base of the hole. It was dented and soiled with soot and dirt, but still remained strong and supportive.

/Is this the roof of a chamber inside? How did they build all of this, anyway?/

"So now what?" Anise asked.

"I'm sure Dist left a ladder or hatch somewhere around here, everyone just spread out and look." Jade said and walked off.

Guy and Luke began walking together as they searched off in the opposite direction of the girls. There was plenty of space to cover within the bottom of the hole; the damage was massive.

"Jade is beyond mad, huh?" Guy said nervously as he watched Luke staring off into space.

"Yeah, sure." Luke replied while trying to walk away from Guy.

Guy suddenly grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "You can't keep moping around like this, Luke! We all don't even know if he's dead! Have you tried contacting him, or-"

Suddenly he stopped yelling and looked softly at Luke's gloomy face.

"We have to stay strong, for the girls' sake at least. Asch wouldn't want to see us all being cry babies, right?"

/I need to stop being so selfish; I'm not the only one hurting./

"You're right." Luke replied and gave him a fake smile.

"Hey you guys! Look what I found!" Anise shouted from afar in a sing-song voice.

Guy and Luke made their way over there and realized that Anise had found a bolted hatch that was indented into the metal floor. It had a little engraving of Dist's face along with the note, 'Do not enter! There's absolutely nothing down here, and no one should ever enter this! Ever!'

"Subtle as always, aren't we, Dist?" Jade murmured.

A communal eye roll and loud sighs passed before Luke asked, "That's just great, but how do we open it?"

"Allow me. Of course, It's best that you all stand back." Jade said and held out his spear.

* * *

"We're looking for Sector B, right? Why is it so dark in all these halls! It's making it impossible to tell where to go!" Guy yelled as he paced back and forth in frustration.

"That's probably the point of them being so dark." Tear replied indirectly and checked around the corner only to find another dead-end.

"What Sector are we in right now?" Luke said as he followed Jade's lead.

"I believe the hatch had 'Sector C' written on the inside of it, so we are either on the right track or traveling farther away." Jade said as he continued his leisurely pace down the hall.

The halls only seemed to get darker the deeper they continued in, surrounding them with not only blindness, but also paranoia. It was a good thing Jade had thought to bring along a fonstone that lit up, even though it was dim.

/They usually only use lights like this in the cargo spaces of ships. I wonder if he took this one off the Tartarus?/

They walked for what seemed like hours down the uniform halls until Luke suddenly yelled out, "Sector B! It says it right there!"

Everyone gave out a cheer of success and started running to catch up with him. Sloppy red paint outlined the words across the huge wall which looked like a giant garage door stretching up 20 feet high. It obviously created a large obstacle between them and the other side.

"Now that we've found it, how do we get through?" Guy said as he knocked on the barricade.

The door responded with a harsh rattling that echoed through the hall, and everyone gave an angry glare over at him.

Luke replied, "Should we try to find the lever that makes it work or maybe there's another-"

"Bloody Howling!"

Suddenly a large explosion went off a Tokunaga-shaped hole was created right through the door. The boom was still echoing through the halls as they made their way down the next set of pathways.

* * *

Asch was suddenly thrown into awareness by a violent shaking of his shoulders. His eyes snapped open and he was met with the face of a desperate woman. Everything was hazy and unfamiliar, especially the perplexed look he was getting from this woman.

"We have to go, now! While there's still a chance!" She yelled and started pulling him off the bed.

"Wait, wait." Asch slurred and then fumbled with something stuck in his arm.

"I heard them talking; apparently they're still drugging you so you can't contact anyone. What does that mean, exactly?" She said while trying to get him to look over at her.

Asch ignored her and impulsively yanked the IV in his arm out, causing a shudder of pain down his spine. She hadn't noticed what he was doing until then and was thrown back in shock when she saw the blood oozing out of the wound.

"Why'd you do that?!" She gasped and grabbed a spare roll of gauze from the table next to them.

"I can't leave with it in, right?" He snapped back and tried to walk out, only to stagger backward to regain his balance.

She began to mutter something before sitting him back down on the bed.

"Hold on, I have to at least cut off some of the blood flow from this hole you created in your arm."

She began to fashion a bandage for the dripping wound, but Asch couldn't seem to pay attention.

/Where am I?/

"What were you thinking? Whatever, I'll just tie this cloth farther up on your arm."

/I'm numb to feeling, but at the same time my entire body wants to collapse and never get up again./

"Hah, It's a good thing your heart rate is slowed down or else you'd be in some serious trouble."

"I've been through much worse in the past couple hours than a little prick like this." Asch said as he pulled his arm back just as she finished tying the cloth.

/My head wont stop spinning, but at least I'm alive./

The woman gave him a sympathetic look and opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. Asch's icy disposition still came through his sedated words leaving her speechless to avoid his argumentative ramblings. She grabbed his hand and led him out the door and into a bright hallway.

"Where are we even going?" Asch said, barely able to keep his eyes open as she dragged him out.

When he didn't get an answer, he glanced over at the blonde headed woman dragging him down the hall. She was dressed plainly, but Asch looked down and realized he was still in his uniform, too. Or he assumed from the haze of black and red enveloping his body.

"What is this place?" The woman said as she soon realized it was larger than she'd anticipated.

"I can show you the way out," A voice sweetly called from behind them.

Suddenly Jade was standing in the middle of the hall while holding out a hand. His voice was smooth and persuasive, and the woman let go of Asch's hand to go embrace the man.

"Jade, thank goodness! How could you let Dist get away with this? Do you know this poor boy? He's heavily sedated and I don't even think he can tell me his name, but we have to find a way out of here!" The woman cried out happily.

"It's Asch." Asch muttered from behind her, but she ignored him.

"It's right this way, now let's be quick about it too." Jade said as he beckoned for them to follow him down the hall to the right.

Asch looked around at the white halls for a couple of minutes until he noticed something oddly familiar. He couldn't put his finger on it, but this hall certainly had some important meaning. The woman and Jade we're talking up a storm in front of him, completely ignoring his inability to walk.

/This hall... I've been here before, haven't I? This hall leads back to the chambers, not to an escape route!/

"Thats-" Asch started.

The woman and Jade turned around with worried glances.

"Are you okay?" She asked and started walking over with a confused look.

Jade grabbed her arm and gave a serious look while nodding his head, as if he was warning her not to go closer.

"That isn't Jade!" Asch yelled as he started backing away.

She looked over at Jade with a confused glance until he replied, "Poor thing, those drugs must be really strong."

"No, don't believe that! I've been this way before, it just leads back to those chambers! This is all a trap!" Asch yelled again.

The woman looked back and forth at the two suspiciously before asking, "Jade, do you remember my middle name?"

/She's pretty cunning; she knows Dist put all the important facts in his replicas, but minor details like middle names could've been easily skipped over./

Jade suddenly grabbed her arm tighter and pulled it behind her back before pointing his spear over at Asch.

"The underground prisons are this way. I hope you'll be joining me along with Miss Nebilim." Jade said as he struggled against her attempts to escape.

Asch instinctively muttered a phrase and a glyph formed beneath him, sending out a high level arte of wind. The doppelgänger was blown down the hall and left with deep gashes from the slicing air currents.

/I'm not going to be able to stand soon after this./

"What has Dist been doing?" She gasped as she inspected the now limp body of Jade.

"He looks unconscious, we better make a hasty escape now." She said when Asch didn't reply.

/Why is it so bright?/

Once she got closer, she inspected Asch's obvious behavior and caught him as he lunged forward from overexerting himself.

"I'm fine." He slurred as he pulled himself back up.

"If you'd let me just prop you up with my shoulder while we escape, that would be faster than your protesting." She replied sternly while making sure he didn't fall over again.

"You didn't have to use such a high-powered arte, you know." She said as they made their way down the hall.

"I didn't think I guess. Whatever they have me on has destroyed my ability of rational thought; I can't contact anyone and I'll I can manage is impulsive decisions and a couple of steps on my own." Asch replied slowly.

"Contact anyone?" Nebilim asked incredulously.

"I guess you died before isofons were created, right? I'm sure you know how it works though. Anyway, Whatever the hell Dist did to me made me everyone's isofon, so it's like a giant communication system. With Luke it's a lot easier, but sometimes I warn Jade." Asch said as they turned another corner.

/The doppelgänger didn't even have any thoughts in its head./

She didn't say anything for a while, as if she was pondering the very idea of it all.

"You're sort of amazing, you know that? In all my years of research, I could never hope to create someone as powerful and resilient as you. No one should be able to survive the planetary fonic arte. Even when I was studying it, it seemed impossible to put to good use." Nebilim said thoughtfully.

Before Asch could reply, a sweet voice began to echo through the empty halls.

"Asch, is that really you?" Anise said as she ran up and wrapped herself around his waist.

"Anise, ow, please, watch out." He said, although he was happy to see a familiar face.

"Hello to you, too. Just as grumpy as usual, I see. Well, whatever, we need to escape now!" Anise yelled and pointed down the hall she just came from.

"Where is everyone else?" Asch asked as he looked around.

"We all got separated while fighting off some guards. I was actually looking for them to be honest, but finding you is even better! Wait a second, who is the girl?"

"Asch?" Nebilim asked warily while giving him a suspicious glance.

He nodded quietly and then replied, "She's a friend. Anise, can you show us the way?"

She gave a bright smile and began walking ahead of them while talking about how they'd gotten there. Nebilim gave a look over to Asch before casting an arte that knocked Anise out just like Jade.

Asch looked over at her unconscious frame and couldn't help feeling a pang of regret, even though it wasn't the same Anise he knew.

"How'd you know the difference? I mean, how do you know I didn't just hit the right girl?" She asked as they hurried down the opposite hall.

"She had horrible thoughts. Murder and malice and securing the prisoners for redemption from Dist were the only things she was thinking. It's all she'd ever thought of during her entire existence." Asch replied solemnly.

After a long period of walking through empty halls, they stopped to assess where to go.

"If you can keep watch, I'll try to contact someone. It's going to take a lot of concentration, but I think I can manage." Asch said as he sat down next to the wall.

* * *

"To think that all this exists..." Guy said in wonder as he looked inside a giant room full of chemicals and complicated machinery.

Everyone was spread out around the room since it was such a large amount of space to cover. They'd found the little entrance to the laboratory soon after entering the new wing of the building. A quiet air hung over all of them until Jade's voice broke the silence.

"We have to destroy it. All of it."

He stared carelessly knocking bottles off the tables and crushed them beneath his boot.

Luke carefully walked over to him and asked, "Jade?"

/I've never seen him like this./

His foot continued to smash the broken test tubes and beakers with more strength than before. The sound of smashing glass was echoing around the silent room, but Jade didn't seem to notice the fear in everyone's eyes. He started on a different table this time, ready to knock out the machinery with his spear.

"Jade?"

He didn't answer again, but adjusted his glasses and gave another look around the huge room.

This time Guy spoke up and sternly said, "Jade, snap out of it!"

He didn't answer and stalked over to the doorway before stopping short of leaving. Without turning around, he whispered softly, but still angrily.

"Human emotions can't just be chemicals. No matter how hard you try-" He paused, leaving a dead silence over the laboratory.

"-the feelings will never come back. Memories mean nothing to an empty shell with a familiar face."

/What counts as a human being?/

He exited the room and the echo of his boots was audible as he clicked down the hall.

Everyone looked around nervously before somberly leaving the room.

/What does that make Asch?/

They all followed the clicking of the boots until they found a dark room full of glowing buttons of all shades of colors. They could only see half of the room since the door was only slightly opened, but a horrible feeling seemed to climb Luke's spine.

/This is the main chamber, isn't it?/

Luke carefully stepped in the foreboding darkness and soon realized it wasn't anything like he'd expected. The room resembled a giant computer with buttons strewn across a desk on one side of the room, and a dark window on the other. Jade was looking through the glass with a pained look on his face, not even noticing Luke's entrance. Upon closer inspection, Luke noticed there was a glyph inscribed on each button and the glow was created by fonons seeping out through the circular buttons. There were many different ones, each with a different fonon represented through the color.

/This is a control room, isn't it? But for what? and why is no one monitoring it?/

Luke walked over to what Jade was staring so intently at until he realized it was one-way glass, showing a room on the other side.

"That's the same glyph we saw at Nebilim's Crag, isn't it?"

Jade didn't respond, just continued looking off in silence.

"Dist used the planetary fonic arte to create a mass effect of his new fonon, the 'eighth one', didn't he?" Luke said as he worked it through it.

/I wonder why there are metal bases on the ground in that room? There are matching ones on the roof, too! It must have something to do with all that shattered glass, but how come those are the only things in the room besides the glyphs?/

"But there's no catalyst weapons and nothing to convert the mass of fonons into this new fonon, right?" Luke said again, talking to himself more than Jade.

"Asch." Jade said quietly.

" It was all Asch."

* * *

/Dammit, I still can't think straight! It's starting to clear up, but I'm still incapable of trying to fix the broken connection./

"I'm guessing that the entire group was recreated if Anise is here." Asch said wearily as they continued down another bright hallway.

"Group?" Nebilim repeated.

Asch didn't respond, but he quickly pulled himself from under her shoulder and whispered, "I hear footsteps and clanking armor. No doubt there are guards after us, so it's probably better if you leave me here."

She fiercely whispered back, "If I leave you behind you'll surely be captured! You do realize that Dist will continue to abuse your power until you waste away in agony, not to mention all the new replicas he might create? Besides, you saved my life, so I owe you one!"

Asch had no time to respond as four guards quickly rounded the corner and began charging at the two. He side-stepped in front of Nebilim and used what little strength he had left to unleash a wall of fire.

Once the flames died down, the remnants of the men had been reduced to ash within sterling armor, in fact, the armor was untouched.

"Why would you bother to create fire resistant armor without making sure all your skin was covered?" Nebilim said as she knocked on the empty shells.

Asch sat down on the ground and watched as she picked up pieces and inspected them.

"I don't approve of this kind of violence, you know. Artes aren't meant to be so-"

"I had no other choice." Asch said curtly as he rested his forehead on his knees.

There were a couple of minutes of silence before he felt a light tap on his shoulder, beckoning for him to look up. Once he pulled his eyes up, he realized he was looking back at a suit of armor.

Swiftly he pushed himself away and tried to stand up to cast a spell, but a familiar voice stopped him.

"Hey, hey! Hold on a second!" She cried out while holding her arms over her face.

Asch looked at the armor puzzled until he realized that it was Nebilim hiding beneath the garments.

"I don't really think this is the time for jokes." Asch groaned.

"It's not a joke! We can get around in these, and no one will realize that it's us!" She replied.

Asch was reluctant about her idea but quickly realized that it was the only hope of getting out of here. He walked over to the piles of armor and touched one, although they still had a warm feeling from the fire.

* * *

It didn't take long to change into one, and since they were so large Asch didn't even have to change out of his uniform. The downside of that was his limited sight through the helmet and the weight of the armor.

He steeled himself against the will to faint and focused on getting the hell out of here.

"We need to find other guards so it won't look suspicious that we were the only two who made it out untouched." Asch said as they uniformly paced down the hall.

"You two, down there!"

Suddenly Asch and Nebilim turned around and were met with another group of guards, although their armor was much more ornate and detailed.

/These must be high-ranking guards./

Asch awkwardly saluted the guard and received one back from all the lower knights behind the decorated knight.

In a loud voice, the main guard asked, "Report back your findings in the East Wing! Now!"

Asch shuddered at his booming voice, but remained calm and replied, "Sir, we spotted them heading deeper into the East Wing! One of them destroyed two members of our squad, and we barely escaped with our lives. We came back for extra support!"

He added on an extra 'sir' to his sentence and Nebilim gave a reassuring nod to the main guard.

"All forces, down to the east wing!" The knight called out and pointed with his spear to the hall Asch had just escaped from. The knights behind the main guard began running down in that direction.

"You two, head over to the central office and give your reports." The knight said, and then followed after his squad down the hall.

"That went well." Nebilim whispered as they began walking down the halls that had opened up.

"Being a former member of the Oracle Knights, this is all standard protocol. Dist was a member too, so I assumed he'd set up his forces the same." Asch replied.

**"**Oracle Knights, eh?" A voice said from behind them.

* * *

"Where are they all coming from?" Guy yelled as he stabbed the knight in front of him.

They were surrounded by soldiers, at least a hundred of them crowded in the hall. It'd been an easy walk until an alarm suddenly began bursting their eardrums with three intermittent beeps. Red lights filled the halls and drowned out the shadows that had once clung to the walls.

/The soldiers are almost ignoring us. In fact, only one squad seems to be focused on us; the others are heading deeper in the building./

"We definitely didn't set off the alarm! Something else must be going on!" Tear yelled in between beeps.

After defeating the weak footmen, Luke looked over to his left and saw an empty passageway.

"Come on!" He shouted and the group ran after him.

The hall was a sanctuary of silence, giving them somewhere to think out what to do next.

"What do you think is going on, colonel?" Anise said quietly as they all tried to catch their breath.

"Three beeps is a military code for an emergency situation, and there's a certain position each soldier must assume. Dist was never one for fighting or military tactics in general, so I'm sure he just used basic configurations." Jade said monotonously.

"So if we know the way they're set up, we can avoid them!" Guy said cheerfully.

"Why do we need to avoid them? We've already found what we're looking for." Jade replied.

Luke looked around at everyone's confused faces until he asked, "What do you mean? We still haven't-"

"The control room is right down the hall. We can set the building to self destruct and make our way out." Jade said, but did not dare to glance down at Luke.

/What about Asch?/

No one spoke and a silence fell over the hallway, even though a distant beeping could be heard. Luke looked around at everyone's sullen faces, but no one seemed to want to meet his distraught eyes.

/No.../

Tear softly began, "We could at least-"

"The body of a corpse is not worth your own lives."

"You don't even know if he's dead." Luke whispered.

"He is a threat to everyone on this planet if he stays alive. We're doing the right thing by ending it all here, in fact, I refuse to bring him back with us." Jade said.

His glasses hid his eyes, but Luke knew they weren't as stern as his words.

"Jade, how could you say that?" Guy yelled back at him.

"He is better off dead, which he should've been all along. It's time to put an end to this wretched research, once and for all." He replied quietly, unaffected by everyone's outrage.

/What is Jade saying? Where did all of this come from? Did he just lead is down here to help destroy the building with no intention of saving Asch? How dare he?/

"I won't leave him behind. Even if all I find is a corpse-" Luke faltered in his strong tone he'd once began in.

"-even if it's just a corpse left, I have to know that he's gone. I won't let go of the little hope I have."

Guy and Anise nodded in approval, but Jade remained resilient to his claims.

Tear looked over in agreement with Jade and murmured, "You have to let go, Luke."

* * *

Asch spun around and met the same red eyes from before. The light made the boy even more translucent than before and the only features he could see were his greedy red eyes and sharp grin.

"What's wrong?" Nebilim asked as she turned around too.

"Nothing." He replied sharply and they continued through the empty halls.

_"Nothing, huh?"_

Out of nowhere, a harsh alarm began going off and the hall was painted with a red light. It beeped a total of three times before a short period of silence, then picked up again in the same pattern.

"They're going to realize that the East Wing is empty soon, we have to hurry!" Nebilim yelled as she continued to help him down the hall.

The suits of armor were a necessary evil; no one could recognize them, but they sure did slow down movement. Asch figured out that as long as he pushed forward, the suit would help keep him upright.

_"I can always lead you out, you know."_

Asch gritted his teeth at the boy who was still following him. He was skipping up and down the hall freely, mocking his inability to even walk.

/They all think I'm dead, don't they? I wouldn't bother to search for me through all these knights, in fact I'd just.../

_"What's that gloomy look for? Of course I'm used to it by now. You're always a bitter guy, huh? Expecting the worst, and receiving a fate much worse than one you'd thought. "_

"Leave me alone!" Asch shouted as the spirit began to pull on his hair and scratch at his arms as if the armor didn't exist.

"What's going on?" Nebilim asked in alarm.

_"Remember your promise."_

The giggle seemed to echo in his ears, drowning out the alarm and words of Nebilim.

/Everything is so hazy all of a sudden. Why do I keep hallucinating? I'm going mad, but before I'm insane I'll have died from this pain./

"This armor, it's too heavy to move in." Asch said deliriously.

The hated dizziness was back, already buzzing around his head. This was much different from before, a much deeper wave of pain and nausea.

"Hey!" She yelled as he fell backward when his legs faltered.

Nebilim hooked her arms under his shoulders and dragged him over to an open room down the hall. She lifted up the armor mask and saw that his eyes were still open, but he looked feverish and pale like a wilted flower.

"Go." He whispered off of pale lips, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"No, no, you'll be fine! You were just up and walking, you can't just-"

"I'm out of time, aren't I? I was hoping to see everyone just once more." He said and slumped his head against the wall she'd rested him on.

**"**I can't just leave you! I don't know what to do!" She cried out as she looked around at the crowds of knights passing by the room.

Asch still looked like he was breathing, but he was definitely unconscious.

"Out of my way, I'm a seventh fonist." A voice said as she pushed Nebilim aside.

"Tear?" Asch said softly as she pulled his helmet off. All his crimson hair fell out in bloody strands, further worsening his sorry appearance.

"I'm here, too! I can't believe your alive, Asch!" A voice called out from behind her.

Suddenly Guy was in his field of vision and gave him a cheerful grin.

"Where's Luke?" Asch asked, although his voice was barely audible over the alarm.

"He's overheating, someone help me get this armor off of him." Tear said and Nebilim instantly helped her. Nebilim ditched her own armor too, seeing as that plan had failed.

"Now what?" Nebilim asked as she felt his feverish forehead.

"He needs real medical care." Guy said as he tried to pick him up off the ground.

Asch slowly lifted his head and met the smiling face of Guy.

\My family was murdered. Everyone deserves to die. I don't even want to touch the son of a murderer.\

"No." Asch whispered in shock and then looked over at Tear.

\Van, my precious brother. He's coming back to me finally! We can live peacefully! If I bring the prisoners back, Dist will make me a new brother!\

"Run! Get out of here!" Asch yelled, although he couldn't free himself from Guy's strong grasp.

Nebilim seemed to understand what he was trying to say and backed away from Tear, who was already approaching her. The other knights seemed to disappear, leaving the four alone in an empty room.

"Come on, let's do this as painless as possible." Tear said as she cornered Nebilim.

Nebilim began to prepare for an arte, but Guy shouted in a sing-song voice from across the room, "Try anything, and I'll smash this guy's skull in. Dist doesn't need him anymore, and I can just say a careless knight ended up killing him."

She didn't reply to his threat and continued to stare down Tear with a glyph already drawn beneath her.

Tear suddenly turned around and yelled," Knock him out, now! If he realizes we aren't the real ones, then he can-"

A horrible scream followed along with the roar of flames, leaving the room a mess of smoke and sound. When the cloud of smoke cleared, all that was left was ashes and bones.

Nebilim began to run over to where Asch was being held by Guy, but was stopped when Guy drew his sword.

"I'll destroy you, just as I did her!" Nebilim said fiercely while pointing over at the pile of singed bones.

"Oh really? I guess I'll be taking your little friend here to hell with me, then!" The doppelgänger said cheerfully as he threw Asch down on the ground and shoved his heel into his spine to prevent Asch from trying to get up.

"You can escape now and I'll smash my foot right through his head, or you can join your friend and take a little visit over to Dist. What'll it be?" Guy said while grinning madly.

Nebilim's lip trembled but she stood her ground and gave a fierce look back into the lifeless one's of the replica.

"It's too late. Get out, now-" Asch said quietly, but was silenced by a swift kick to the head.


	17. Anise is the Cutest!

They all somberly gathered in the control room and Jade quietly shut the door behind him. No one had the courage to speak up, to protest the inevitable plan of action they'd all agreed to.

The dark room had little bursts of color from the buttons Luke had noticed earlier, and the red light from the hallway flooded in from the gap between the shut door and the floor. This room seemed considerably smaller than he'd remembered it, but the lack of lighting made his depth perception weaker and he could have easily mistaken the size.

Everyone reluctantly searched around the room for a light since they couldn't even start to look for the self destruct operating system without being able to see. Jade didn't seem that bothered by the lack of light and began to walk over to an empty cabinet.

Luke couldn't seem to make his legs move as easily as everyone else's; he felt frozen in place in front of the door.

"Find anything, Luke?" Guy asked as he sauntered back over to him. He hadn't moved since they'd entered the room, so Guy obviously knew the answer was a no.

/He just wants to cheer me up. How is he okay with all of this?/

Luke felt numb to everyone's words and numb to his own thoughts in particular. His legs felt like jello and his hands were trembling as Guy prompted him to help search.

"We're doing the right thing, Luke. Our lives aren't worth wasting over someone who might not even be alive." Guy murmured, but his words seemed a bit forced and somber.

/Jade's right. Tear's right. Guy's right. Asch wouldn't want me to die for him, especially if he's gone already. He said goodbye for a reason, didn't he?/

Anise eventually tried to fill the silence by asking, "Can't we just try to-"

"I've found what we're looking for." Jade said over her while pulling on a panel hidden behind a cabinet.

/But Asch never gave up. Why am I giving up on him?/

"How do you know that's it?" Guy inquired as he walked over.

/They're all wrong; we should be looking for him! But what if he is gone, then what? Everyone could die from my poor choice./

No one seemed to notice Luke's deteriorating mental state, and he sat down on the dark tiles as Guy and Jade messed with the tangled wires within the wall. He didn't want to accept Asch's death: he couldn't, he wouldn't. There was still a faint whisper of Asch left within him, a buzz still left in the back of his head.

/Asch, if you can still hear me, please answer! Even if it's not words, send me some form of a sign!/

Luke sat in silence, receiving no answer from the dark room. He looked around and noticed everyone was gathered around the panel now with curiosity.

"That should do it." Jade said as he heaved back on the panel covering and headed back over to the main control panel.

"Once I press this button, it should activate the self-destruct system Dist created. I redirected the operating system from the main computer to here, and it should give us two hours to escape. Everyone ready?"

Guy pulled Luke up off the floor and gave a nod over in Jade's direction of approval.

\-uke!\

"No.." Luke whispered. His eyes widened and he almost fell back in shock from the sudden voice.

/I didn't imagine that, right?/

"Luke no matter how much you protest, we have to do this." Tear said softly.

"No! I heard him!" Luke yelled back and stood in front of the glowing red button.

"Did you really, or was it just what you wanted to hear?" Guy said as he softly put a hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly Jade pushed Luke to the ground and slammed his hand down on the button. The group looked around in shock at the sudden violent behavior by Jade; it was almost as if he was acting like a completely different person.

Anise helped pick Luke back off the ground and shouted, "You didn't have to do that!"

/I have imagined it. I have to let go, don't I? This is really the end of all of Dist's scheme, the end of Asch, the end of everything./

The room was suddenly bathed in a bright green glow from flood lights attached to the ceiling, and the entire room was now visible. It was much more complex than Luke had imagined, although he was an amateur at best when it came to fontech. The entire room seemed much different in the light, and was definitely a lot smaller than the other room they'd been in.

/This sure doesn't look right. Did we do something wrong?/

A hissing noise suddenly erupted from the vents on the floor followed by a cloud of smog spewing into the room. The green light outlined the thick, black clouds coming out from the floor and everyone jumped back in surprise. It looked as if the room was slowly being filled with smoke from top to bottom, already covering Luke's shoes.

"Jade, what's going on?" Tear yelled and started heading for the door.

/Jade never gotten anything wrong before!/

He stepped in front of the door while holding out his spear and replied, "It's my mission to get rid of the intruders."

/That's not possible! Jade would never.../

Everyone looked around at each other incredulously before Luke asked, "You aren't Jade, are you?"

/We've been tricked, hopelessly fooled by one of Dist's replicas. I should have known!/

He didn't reply and continued to barricade the door. Luke felt his throat begin to ache from breathing in the foul-smelling smoke and wheezed out a cloud of black against the green hued room.

Guy unsheathed his sword and began running toward Jade in an angry assault, but was quickly thrown back by a gust of wind. The arte was nowhere near the skills of the real Jade, but it sufficed enough to blow Guy away.

"It's no use. The door was locked from the outside beforehand, so killing me is useless." He replied politely.

"Don't you want to live too?" Anise choked out as she leaned on the wall for support.

The thick gas was now curling around the entire room, leaving them with nowhere to hide from its foggy grip. Tear looked around the back of the room for some form of exit, but even she knew that they were all trapped.

Guy jumped at him again with a swift attack but Jade dodged it easily and slid away with ease from another angry stab from Luke.

He motioned toward the door and said, "It won't open, but you can try if you'd like."

Guy and Anise immediately ran over to the door and began screaming and kicking for help, but their efforts didn't even dent the barricade. The green lights were still bright and showed off how empty the room really was, in fact, this wasn't the same room at all. It was a decoy room set up only as a gas chamber to suffocate all the intruders.

/Dist knew we were in the building from the beginning. We were doomed from the start, weren't we? Wait, when did we switch Jade's, or where is the real Jade now?/

Luke fell to the floor in defeat even though Anise and Guy still hasn't given up on their barrage of attacks. The replica of Jade stood in the same spot as before and gave no expression of remorse or pain, only a dead look in his eyes symbolized that he was still awake.

/He doesn't even care about dying; I wonder if he can even feel pain? These replicas Dist created are just empty shells meant to toy with everyone's emotions, and we all fell for it, didn't we?/

Tear sat down with Luke on the floor and murmured, "You were right. I'm so sorry."

He looked over at the sleepy look in her eyes and felt himself begin to drift off into a black sea hidden behind her gaze. Tear collapsed on top of him soon after, and Anise suddenly stopped screaming as the smoke took away her voice.

"Tear!" Luke hoarsely yelled out, but his voice only came out in a raspy whisper. She didn't reply and remained motionless, completely collapsed on top of him.

Guy fell to his knees and was still weakly banging on the door while cursing. Anise laid on the floor while weakly mumbling insults at the replica. The doppelgänger was slumped into the wall and looked dead already, but it was hard to tell if he was just unconscious or not.

/What a horrible life. Dist only created him to die, didn't he? Only the real Jade will do for him. We were all just obstacles he needed to get rid of./

After a couple more rough coughs, Luke glanced over and saw that Guy had passed out, too. He was propped up against the door, but his head had slumped over on his shoulder and his tight fists unclenched.

/Is this really the end, after we've come so far?/

The black began to crowd the corners of Luke's eyes and he fell back onto the cold tile. Everyone was collapsed on the floor to the right and left of him, and the green seemed to fade away into a rich black.

/Goodbye, Asch./

* * *

"And what is he doing here?"

"You asked me to bring the prisoners, so I did."

/That idiot! Why didn't she run away?/

Asch carefully opened his eyes only to meet darkness, although it wasn't as if the lights were off because he could feel a rough cloth covering his eyes and tangled in the back of his hair. It added on to the already building pressure on Asch's skull, and his head felt like it was collapsing in on itself.

/I've been blindfolded, that's just great. How am I supposed to get out of this if I can't even see?/

An overpowering smell of heavy perfume filled the air and clogged his nose with the aroma of sickly sweet roses and thick musk. The nausea it created was nostalgic, since he'd been forced to smell it many times before.

/Why are they even bothering to keep me alive? Smelling this is torture enough, someone just put me out of my misery./

"No, no, he needs to go straight to the infirmary. Especially with all those new wounds; I thought I told you not to hurt them?" Dist said surly and he felt an ice-cold hand brush up against his forehead.

Asch flinched away from the icy touch and tried to get away, but soon realized he could barely even move his head, much less his arms or hands.

"It was such a long walk to get over here, so I just dragged him instead of carrying him. It was too many stairs to be carrying someone up unconscious, you know? At least I didn't hurt the girl, right?"

Guy's voice overturned his stomach and left a sour taste in his mouth that almost as bad as the smell in the room.

"Even if you're blindfolded, I can still see you scowling. What happened, Asch? We used to be such good friends!" Dist whined, almost as if he was serious.

/He actually might be serious./

"I would never be friends with such a pitiful person." Asch sneered back.

/I wonder if Nebilim is in here?/

"How dare you say something like that to someone as beautiful as me? You're the pitiful one, bleeding all over my nice floors! You're lucky someone as graceful as I would consider you a friend!"

Suddenly he felt a blunt object smash into the side of his face and he gritted his teeth in pain, but managed to keep a straight face.

/I'm not going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing that it hurt. A lot./

"That was me, by the way." A cheerful voice said from right behind his ear. It was the same tone as Guy, but he knew all too well that it was just another replica.

"Hey, we need him alive! The dear professor seems to have some sort of fascination with him, you know. Maybe its something about all this hair; it's almost as nice as mine, you know." Dist replied as he patted Asch on the head and ran his hands through the tangled mess.

/He's just trying to get me to overreact. I need to focus on deep breathing rather than smashing this guy's head in./

Asch could feel the blood dripping down his face but didn't dare lose his composure. He cringed his shoulders as the icy hand went through his hair, getting caught up in every strand and pulling at his bruised scalp.

/If that slimy excuse for a human being ever touches me again, I'll-/

\-oodbye, Asch.\

"Hmph, well, he seems like he has a better temper than he used to. You two go on ahead while I go talk with Nebilim."

Asch had no time to be taken aback in shock by the sudden voice as someone pulled him up off what he assumed was a chair and pushed him in the right direction of the door. His hands were still tied behind his back and the blindfold was still intact, making an escape plan difficult to come up with.

/Luke?/

It was difficult to walk, in fact, he fell over face first within a few steps. Asch heard Dist laughing behind him and lost it, firing off a mess of curses and insults. Someone, presumably Guy, roughly grabbed him, and guided him out of the foul-smelling room.

/Luke, what's going on? Answer me!/

"That's far enough, Dist."

* * *

"Please don't be dead, c'mon, just wake up!"

/My mouth tastes like an ashtray./

"Do we just leave his body in the hall? That seems a little rude."

/That sounds like Sync, doesn't it? Where am I?/

Luke gave out a loud groan and began violently coughing before he finally opened his eyes. He was in the hall with the smoking room in front of him, only distinguishable by the green color within it. The red lights were gone from the hall, and everything within the building seemed as normal as when they entered. He shut his eyes again against the bright lights and rolled over on his side so that coughing would be less painful.

Suddenly Sync leaned down and got close to Luke's face while he grinned widely. He looked over at his partner and yelled, "He's alive, Arietta! Go check the other ones, they might still have a chance!"

Luke jumped back when he reopened his eyes and looked around wildly until he calmed down enough to figure out what was going on.

Everyone was sprawled out in the hall and it seemed as if Sync had dragged them all out of the room with the assistance of Arietta, who began to feebly prod at Anise's unconscious figure.

"Where'd Jade go?" Luke huffed out through heavy breaths. He couldn't seem to get enough air into his lungs, and the black smoke still seemed to cling to his insides.

"Oh, we left the replica in the room. Those things have nasty regenerative properties, so I was hoping to escape quickly, but you guys sure are taking a while."

"How'd you know that it was a replica? How'd you know where we were, and how'd you know-?"

Sync was waving his hand over Guys closed eyes before he answered, " Know what? We ran into the real Jade when he asked if we knew where the main room was, so that one in the room obviously had to be fake. And to find out your location? Well, we just got lucky on that one. You should be thanking me, you know, because you all looked dead when I opened that door. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened once I saw that replica."

He started shaking Guy's shoulders until he suddenly sat up and pushed Sync away in a spastic fit. After a couple of minutes he calmed down and looked around at the weary group members.

"We're alive?" Guy said slowly as he looked around the hall.

"Barely." Anise coughed out as she tried to sit up.

"So if that wasn't Jade in there, then does that mean that there's another Guy running around?" Guy asked as he looked in the smoking room.

"Or another Anise?" She said beside him.

"I think Dist remade one of all of us." Tear finally called out in a hoarse tone.

"I've seen the Guy replica running around. He's probably the nastiest one of them all. I think Nebilim and Asch burnt the Tear one to a crisp, and the Jade one is in there. So all that leaves is Anise and Luke, or even a Natalia one." Sync said.

"Asch?!" They all cried out in unison.

"Hm? What'd you think happened to him?" Sync asked as he shut the door and locked it so that the replica couldn't escape.

/I wasn't just imagining things!/

"I thought he was dead, too." Arietta said quietly.

"Well, now that it's all cleared up, shall we be off?" Sync said cheerfully.

"Wait, where are we going? What's Jade's position? What about the other replicas, and how are we going to tell each other apart?" Tear said as she composed herself.

"I was hoping you'd figure out all the technical stuff since I, you know, saved your lives." Sync mumbled back.

"Fine. I think we need to find Jade, but first lets come up with a password just in case one of those replicas gets in our group again." Tear replied.

"We have to find Asch too." Luke said quietly.

"Anise is the cutest!" She yelled out and everyone turned around in surprise.

\Luke!\

"What?" Sync snickered.

/Asch? Asch! What happened to you? No, just tell me where you are now!/

"The password should be 'Anise is the cutest!'" She said cheerfully.

\I don't know, they have me blindfolded and this idiot is leading me-Ow, shit!\

/Whats going on?/

\There are doppelgangers everywhere, don't let them fool you!\

/Wait, answer me!/

When no one replied to Anise, she added on, "Well no one else seems to have a better suggestion."

"'Anise is the cutest' it is! We're looking for stairs people, because the only way from here is down!" Sync yelled back happily and began to lead them all through the twists and turns.

"Come on, Luke!" Guy shouted back at him.

* * *

"You think you can take on us with all your little magic tricks?" Guy jeered.

"I only see you in my way." Jade said as he held out his spear.

/That's Jade's voice!/

"Oh, no, I'm not the only one here. You've made it pretty deep into this building, where the real monsters roam. Isn't that right, Largo?" He said back and pulled Asch closer to him as they backed into the doorway they'd just left.

Suddenly a figure rushed into the hall and towered over Jade. The looming figure resembled Largo only in stature, for the rest of the creature's body was distorted and disproportionate. He seemed much more angry and uncontrollable than before, but didn't say a word as he stared down Jade from a few feet away.

"He was the first replica Dist tried to create, almost like a test subject. Dist failed miserably though, picking too few memories and forgetting basic human characteristics. He's deaf, mute, but the only thing he has going for him are his animal instincts. Largo the black lion is simply an animal now, out for blood against anyone he sees. And since we lost his data after creating this replica, it's impossible to make a new one on the same standards as the rest of us."

Largo lunged forward and swung his heavy cleaver directly at Jade's head, only missing by a few inches. Jade retaliated with a stab in the opening Largo left, but the monster didn't even stagger back from the fresh wound and slashed Jade's arm before he had time to escape.

"Jade, watch out! These replicas can't feel pain and regenerate within minutes! Without any senses, he must have heightened sight, so go for his eyes!" Asch yelled out before Guy clamped a hand over his mouth.

"You're a real brat, you know that?" Guy said as he began to drag him down the other hall and away from the brawl of loud artes and clanging metal.

Suddenly a bright flash filled the room and Guy and Largo let out grunts of pain.

/Maybe this blindfold was a good thing after all./

Asch took advantage of Guy's momentary weakness and pulled himself free of his grasp. He couldn't take his blindfold off with his hands tied back, but he managed to stumble away from the replica in the right direction to meet up with Jade. It didn't take long for him to rip off the blindfold, although he didn't have time to fumble with all the knots around his wrists. However, the ability to see made his chances to escape a lot higher than before.

"We need to hurry; we're no match for that monster alone!" Jade said as he rushed down the hall.

"I'd be running faster if I could!" Asch huffed out in response.

_I'd duck if I were you..._

Asch took one look behind him before kicking Jade's feet out from under him and hitting the floor himself as a wall of flame and steel spiraled above their heads. Once the barrage of fire died down they pulled themselves off the ground and saw that Largo had hurled his giant cleaver at them in a rage of fury, and the steaming blade was lodged in the wall.

He was charging at them now, causing Jade and Asch to split apart on either side of the hall to avoid being trampled. Largo barreled straight past them both and into the wall, causing a flurry of dust and a booming sound that filled the hallway.

/Wait a second, where'd that voice come from?/

"Largo, stand down!" Guy called out from his hiding spot, even though he knew it was useless.

Asch looked to his left and his right before yelling, "Where are you?"

_I've always been around you, you just seem to ignore me. Largo is nothing compared to what's in store for you..._

Asch finally spotted the specter at the end of the next hall, and he began chasing after the giggling and glowing figure. Just as he rounded the corner, A sharp tug at his hair pulled him back up against the wall. Seconds later he felt the rush of air as the barreling figure of Largo stomped right past where he'd been standing. Asch looked over his shoulder and gave a surly glance over to Jade, who still had his hand gripped around his hair.

"We have to get out before-" Asch stopped talking and sidestepped out the way of Largo's smashing fist, leaving an indent in the wall where hs head had been.

"Enough talking!" Jade yelled as he quickly dodged a jab from Largo's weapon.

/When did he pull that out of the wall?/

Largo had Jade cornered, both of their weapons clashing in front of Jade's face in a flurry of sparks and metal shrieks. His spear was no match for the tempered steel of Largo's sythe, and it would only be seconds before his spear was split right in two, along with his skull.

The glyph below Asch's feet seemed to form even before he chanted out the arte and within seconds a whirlwind of air and fire surrounded the pair. Once the light beneath his feet disappeared, Asch fell to the ground and couldn't bear to look up.

/I didn't even aim! Jade was caught up in that attack too, he had to have been. What if he-/

Suddenly there was a pat on his shoulder, and he met the bright gaze of Jade. He looked a little scorched, but nowhere near the burnt remains of Largo still twitching on the floor.

"If you don't stop doing reckless things, I might have to start calling you Luke." Jade said as he helped Asch up off the ground.

"Where'd Guy go?" Asch replied bitterly as Jade torched what little was left of Largo.

/Where'd that boy go?/

"Probably stalking off to report to Dist." Jade sighed.

A pair of red eyes were suddenly two inches from his face, gleaming with evil intent.

_I'd get going before something happens to those precious little friends of yours._

Sharp, grinning teeth were forcing out the words in a lightweight tone, and it took everything within him not to turn away from the ghost's chilly breath.

"Asch, what's going on?"

_Or maybe it's too late. How do you know everyones not dead already? Poor Nebilim, forced to spend an eternity in a living hell..._

"Nebilim?" Asch choked out as he cringed away from the boy's devious face.

"Who are you talking to, Asch? Answer me!" Jade asked seriously.

Asch jumped back in surprise when he realized Jade was standing in front of him, and the ghost instantly disappeared as abruptly as it came.

"We have to go find Luke, now!" Asch yelled, but Jade stopped him before he could sprint off down the hall.

"You're bleeding heavily and obviously delirious if you're talking to yourself. Why do we need to hurry to Luke, exactly? And who were you talking to?" Jade said while he sat Asch down on the ground.

/Bleeding?/

While Jade quickly untied the knots around Asch's hands, Asch took the opportunity to look down, and he saw that his uniform was completely ripped up from scratches and tears, but there was no mortal damage or heavy wounds.

"I'm not bleeding at all, really, I'm fine. I can handle a little-"

Jade bent down next to him and ripped off a piece of fabric from Asch's tunic before pressing it against the side of his's head, near his scalp. He took it away after a couple of moments and it was already partly soaked in a bright red color.

"Seeing as you didn't notice the giant gash across your back, or this wound across your head, I doubt you're alright. In fact, no one's body should've been able to withstand that arte in the first place. It unravels each fonon at a time while gathering up the mass of the entire planet, so that you're still here is nothing short of a miracle. The real question is, how long till-"

/How long until my entire body unravels and I disappear?/

"I don't need you telling me what I already know. I'm fine." Asch snarled and pushed Jade away from him as he stood up. He looked over at the remains of Largo, still ash and charred armor, and then back down at the other end of the hall where the boy had once stood.

/Is this all just one big hallucination?/

"Fine, fine, but don't expect me to lie for you."

* * *

"What do you mean, you 'think' this is the way to go?" Guy yelled as they stopped at another crossroad between different halls.

"What I mean is, I'm not exactly sure which way to go!" Sync yelled back.

\Luke, where are you right now?\

/Asch, you're okay! What happened?/

\This is important, dammit! Where are you?\

"Where are we exactly?" Luke said in the middle of Guy and Sync's argument.

"Does it look like we know?" They both yelled back in unison, causing Luke to cringe away over to where Tear and Anise were standing.

"This whole building reminds me of the Oracle Knight's Headquarters, don't you think? It's a lot more complex, but the style is about the same." She said thoughtfully as she looked around.

"So we're basically trying to find our way down to the lowest point possible, right? The lights seem to get dimmer and dimmer as we go down though, so I guess we'll know we're at the bottom when we can't see." Anise murmured back, trying to make light conversation over the argument behind them.

/We've just been trying to get as far down as possible, so it's impossible to say where we are. Why, what's wrong?/

\Nothing's wrong if you haven't made it down to the bottom floors yet. You guys need to find a safe hiding spot and wait for Jade and I to find you, got it?\

"Asch is with Jade!" Luke yelled happily.

Sync and Guy stopped bickering and looked over at Luke in surprise.

"You mean you've been in contact with him this whole time and didn't tell us?" Sync said angrily.

"If you weren't fighting all the time, maybe I would've!" Luke replied.

"This would've been a lot easier if you had. Go on, lead us in the right direction then." Sync sighed.

"Wait, what do you mean? How can Luke know where to go?" Guy asked while glaring over in Sync's direction.

"They're isofons, remember? Well, technically Luke is the only isofon that can connect with Asch, but you can see through each others eyes if you're willing to go unconscious for a couple of minutes and if Asch is willing to let you look. It's almost as if you're temporarily occupying someone else's body. Shouldn't you know all of this?" Sync questioned.

"Even if Luke see's where Asch is looking, how is that going to help us?" Tear replied, obviously unimpressed by Sync's proposal.

"When he separates his body from his spirit, he'll be able to follow a trail of Asch's aura, usually outlined in a certain color. Everyone's aura is different, but it shouldn't be difficult to find Asch's and follow the trail. Time in the spirit world is a lot slower, so he could spend hours in there and it will only have been a couple of minutes here."

"How do you know all of this?" Tear said, obviously astonished by the amount of knowledge.

"Because this is the definition of the eighth fonon: the warping of time and space. It's a parallel universe hidden deep within anyone who has come in contact with the fonon; even I can enter it if I want to. Because Asch and Luke are linked so closely together, I wouldn't doubt he's been contaminated with the eighth fonon, too." Sync replied.

/Asch, have you been listening to all of this? I'm going to come find you!/

\Unfortunately, yes. And no, don't you dare risk your life to come find me you idiot! You don't know who else could be roaming in that 'spirit world' he's talking about! Just stay put!\

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to go find Asch." Luke said.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of your body while you're gone." Guy smirked.

\Don't do this, Luke.\


	18. Spirit World

"Damn, another dead-end! How do you not remember which way to go?" Asch yelled as Jade and he skidded to a halt.

\I've made up my mind, Asch.\

Asch was beside himself with anger and was currently taking it out on Jade, who continued to gracefully ignore his insults and curses. They'd been running around the dark labyrinth for what felt like hours, although no one was even mounting a chase.

/Luke, you can't be serious about this. Is there really some sort of parallel world? How the hell are you even going to get there?/

Luke didn't respond, and Asch obviously knew he was ignoring him on purpose. He impulsively raised his fist and smashed it into the grey wall, however all he received were bloody knuckles instead of relief from the rage building within him.

"I do remember, and we followed the path exactly. What's got you so riled up?" Jade finally replied.

/He doesn't think anything through! Does he even know his way out? Where the hell is the monster hiding? Where are all the other replicas?/

"Then why the hell are we still stuck down here?" Asch spat back as he began to pace back and forth.

Jade didn't reply, and instead he bent down next to the wall Asch had just assaulted and traced his finger along it. Asch rolled his eyes and looked around the corner they just came from, but the dim lighting of the fonstones along the ceiling didn't illuminate any new pathways.

"Are you sure you want to keep creating new wounds with the condition you're already in? You didn't even leave a dent, you know."

Asch ignored him this time and shook out the stinging in his wrist, but his head seemed to throb much more than his hand. He closed his eyes and focused on deep breathing; Luke had gotten a lot more savvy than he used to be, right? There's no way he'd do something this foolish.

/I'm sure everything is going to be fine, that idiot has no idea how to find somewhere like that. But this whole idea of a spirit world sure does make sense, especially with all the ghosts I've seen and that horrible little boy who follows me around. I wonder if I'm stuck in between both of the worlds?/

_Someone's been getting smart... I can always drag you into the spirit world, if you'd like to visit. Or maybe I'll take your friend there for a visit._

Asch quickly looked left and right, but source of the voice wasn't anywhere to be seen. The calm disposition he'd finally regained was gone once again, and he held back the urge to start angrily yelling out at the ghost.

"Someone's been messing with us." Jade said as he stood up and brushed off his hands.

/You can say that again./

"What are you talking about?" Asch said curiously, hoping that Jade might have seen the ghost too.

"Certain walls are a different material if you look closely enough. I didn't realize it until now because of the lighting, but this wall is completely made of stone. You didn't even leave a dent in it. Look at the floor next to the wall, too. The tiles seem to stop right before the wall and there's a small rut in between the wall and the floor. I bet this is all Dist, trying to trap us until he can regroup some forces to capture us." Jade said with a disappointed sigh.

"What, is this some sort of game? Are the walls meant to slide back and forth in our path?" Asch said dejectedly as he began to walk over to the wall to inspect it.

/Maybe I am just delirious. I haven't exactly been completely straight since I first met the ghost in the first place./

_Delirious, huh? You don't think I'm real?_

"Seems like the case. I doubt we can just force our way through by the looks of how sturdy this wall is, so there must be a switch that-"

There was a loud thud followed by lots of cursing, and Jade couldn't help but smirk at the way Asch tripped and face-planted straight into the tile flooring.

"It's not funny you asshole. What the hell did I trip over, anyway?" Asch grumbled as he pulled himself off the ground.

"My, my, I haven't heard you cursing like this in quite a while. Has being away from Luke for so long made you cranky?"

The stone wall in front of them abruptly began rumbling and after a few moments it revealed a hallway where the barricade had once stood.

\-I'm coming to find you, Asch!\

_Sounds like someone else wants to come play with me!_

"Apparently some tiles stick out more than others and work as switches. It'd probably be easier to step on them rather than to fall on top of them, but you can do it however you'd like to. Shall we be going?" Jade said cheerfully as he headed his way down the new passage.

/Luke? Luke! No, dammit, stay put! You have no idea what's going on!/

_If he goes in, you will too. The only way you can enter is with access to the eighth fonon, remember? And if his access point is through you, you can come play too!_

\I've made up my mind, Asch.\

/Stop, you idiot!/

Asch felt a shudder run through his entire body as if he'd been struck by lightning, and the ice-cold electricity ran through his veins and straight to his head. The whitewashed walls around him began crumbling and cracking, although there was no sound except for a ringing in his ears.

"Jade!" Asch gasped out through his collapsing lungs, but he didn't seem to hear him. The oxygen in the room seemed to be draining out through the floor like water in a bathtub, leaving nothing silence to breathe in.

_See you soon!_

He watched Jade turn his head back, but his figure began melting away into the black whirlwind that was now encircling the room. Asch felt himself falter and lose his footing as the ground beneath him dissolved, sending him into a free fall through the blackness. Just before the inevitable impact he knew was coming, he squeezed his eyes shut and braced for the worst.

He reopened his eyes and realized he was back in the same hallway he'd been in before, except the white walls were now a glowing black haze. All the colors were inverted from their original hues; even the fonstones on the ceiling were a bright teal instead of the dim orange they'd been before. The dark tiles were now a brilliant white, clashing with the swirling darkness from the walls.

Asch held out his hands in front of him and jumped back in surprise when he realized he could see right through them. His whole body seemed to have taken on the transparent, grey hue that resembled a ghostly appearance, but his hair stayed the same blazing red as before.

"We look a lot alike, you know that?"

He spun around and saw the same boy as before, although he was much more lively and visible now. He had the same glowing red eyes and sharp smile as before, but they seemed more intense than ever as he fixed his gaze on Asch.

"What the hell did you do?" Asch yelled and began running towards him with his sword drawn.

Just as he swung his blade right through the boy, he dissolved into a grey mist and appeared behind Asch. Asch tried to turn around but was stopped short by a sharp pain in his back and fell to one knee. The pain seemed to spread to his stomach and when he finally looked down, an obsidian blade was thrust straight through his abdomen.

/That's my sword!/

He looked back over to his hand and realized that the sword he'd once been holding was no longer there, and was instead lodged through his back.

"Don't you get it? Nothing matters here!"

Asch watched the black sword dissolve into mist just like the boy had, and the pain disappeared along with the weapon. He carefully stood back up and glared over at the boy, but something farther down the hall caught his eye.

"Is that my body?" He gasped.

The boy skipped along with him as he dashed through the blue hued hall until they finally reached his unconscious frame on the ground. Asch's body looked sickly pale, but his chest was still faintly rising up and down. Jade was leaned over the body that was collapsed on the tile with a worried look on his face, but seemed frozen in motion.

"Jade! Jade, answer me!" Asch yelled as he reached out to touch him.

"It's no use; you're the only one who can step in between worlds and hear us ghosts. And if you touch anyone, they'll be taken down into this world too, but their body would probably unravel when coming in contact with the eighth fonon." He snickered.

Asch slowly got up and walked away from his body and glared back over at the ghost.

"You horrible little demon, why are you doing this? And what'd you do with Luke, where is he?" Asch spat back.

"Poor kid, he's probably hopelessly lost. Shall we go find him?"

* * *

"Guy! Anise! Tear! Can anyone hear me?" Luke yelled, but no one seemed to even take notice.

/What have I done?/

Luke looked around the hall in horror; the bright room he'd once been in was now painted blue, and the walls looked like gaping black holes. The walls had no definite shape and seemed to crowd the entire room, except for the snow-white pathway he was standing on.

"Asch?" Luke called out into the darkness, and heard his voice echo on with no response.

/Nothing to do but follow the path, is there? It's so quiet and empty here./

It felt as if he'd been walking for hours, and he started to grow more frantic and worrisome with each step. He'd call out to Asch, or anyone in particular that could hear him, but the only response he received was silence.

/Oh god, What if I never make it out of here? Asch was right, I have no idea how to get back! I'm such an idiot, a stupid, stupid idiot!/

Luke sat down on the white pavement and curled up into a tight ball while fighting off the urge to sob. His body was still a light, misty grey, but he felt heavy with sadness and fatigue. The dark walls seemed to crowd around him, and the tiny white trail he'd been following was the only light still left in the hell he'd descended to.

"You stupid dreck! Why the hell did you not wait for me and Jade you idiot?"

"Now, now, Asch. The poor kid looks like he's having a pretty hard time."

"I'm so sick of your sarcasm you little demon, I swear to-"

Asch was cut off by a sudden misty figure holding tight around his body, and his tense shoulders relaxed as he allowed Luke to wrap himself around him. A couple of minutes seemed to pass by before Asch finally grumbled, "You can let go now."

Luke finally pulled away while wiping his eyes and said, "I'm so sorry, Asch. i didn't mean to let this all happen, and now we're stuck here with no way out and-"

He stopped talking and curiously looked behind Asch at the smirking figure. His red eyes stood out against the darkness of the room and his sharp teeth sent shivers down Luke's spine.

"Who is that?"

Asch rolled his eyes and answered, "He's been following me around, even before all this happened, but he won't even tell me his name. It's his fault we're even here in the first place."

The figure jumped out from behind Asch and said, "Nice to meet you, Luke. Shall we be heading down now?"

Luke and Asch looked at each other with the same puzzled appearance before Luke finally spoke up and said, "Heading down? What do you mean?"

"Oooh, I must have left that out. You see, Dist set up an entire city right beneath our feet, but only in the spirit world. When you're back in reality, you'll never be able to find him because his body is hidden so well. Why'd you think he went through so much trouble to use that planetary fonic arte?"

"A whole city?" Asch murmured as he began to pace back and forth.

"I'm sure the others will take care of your bodies, since they can't come along." He said while grinning.

"So we're basically going to have to stop Dist alone?" Luke gasped.

"You don't have to stop him, you know. He can just live in his little replica world and never come out." The boy replied.

"No, It requires a mass amount of fonons to stabilize this parallel world, doesn't it? Everyone in reality would run out and eventually the human race would be wiped out." Asch replied angrily.

"Who cares about them? I'm sure we can find a way to bring all your friends in and-"

"What do you mean, 'Who cares about them?' You can't just abandon everyone on the planet!" Luke yelled back.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm starting to see why Asch complains about you so much." The boy grumbled.

Luke shot an angry glance over to Asch, who returned a nonchalant shrug back at him.

"Wait a second, Asch, I still don't get how you know this kid. And how come you never told me about him, if it's been going on for so long?" Luke asked curiously.

Asch muttered something quietly in response before turning his head away.

"What?"

"Oh, he said that he thought you'd think he was crazy. Isn't it cute at how insecure he is?" The boy said back with a cheerful smile.

"You little-" Asch growled back with embarrassment.

"Hm, I'm started to like you! Are you sure you won't tell me your name?" Luke laughed back as Asch's cheeks turned a bright red.

"I don't need to, because you already know it, idiot. Anyway, before we go, there are some important things you need to know. One, weapons are basically useless, since everyone is basically just a soul protected by loose particles. Two, there are a lot of lost, somber ghosts there who will beg you to destroy them. Try not to make eye contact, or else you might lose yourself, too. Three, although this is mainly directed at Asch, we'll be relying mainly on artes to destroy the angry spirits who try to get in our way. And four, no, nevermind. We'll deal with that last one when we need to."

"I don't think I know your name. How would I know a ghost's name, anyway?" Luke pondered.

"Did you really not listen to any of that?!" Asch complained, but Luke looked lost in thought as he mouthed out random names.

"We'll have to pass through the floor and a couple of walls, too, so try not to lose your bearings!" The boy replied.

* * *

"It looks exactly like Keterburg!" Luke yelled as he danced around in the black particles descending through the air and piling up on street corners.

"That is snow, right?" Asch said nervously as the black flakes began to sprinkle his hair.

"Oh, yes. Beautiful, isn't it? Snow's always been so pretty to me." The boy replied as he picked up a giant pile of the black snow and pat it into a ball form.

Asch let out a shiver, but he couldn't help but admire the way the snow gracefully fell from the bright ceiling and down to the streets. The colors seemed a lot less inverted than they'd been in the halls; even the sky had a dark indigo tint to it, as if it were night-time. The street lamps that lined the empty city weren't blue like the lights he'd seen on the upper floors; they were a dim yellow, almost exactly as they should be.

"How come everything looks so much more normal than the rest of the spirit world?" Asch asked as he held a handful of the black snow in his hand.

"Dist's been hard at work to restore the colors. It'd be a lot easier if you hadn't escaped, though, because then he could've easily directed the different color fonons straight into this world instead of having to extract the colors from external sources, and then- oh, this is all probably boring you. How are you doing, anyway?" The boy talked to him almost as if they were long-lost friends, and it did feel as if he knew the boy better than he would a stranger.

/I wonder just who he is?/

It'd been the first time someone had actually asked how he'd been doing this entire time; although he was using all his mental ability to block the pain and memory from Luke.

"I'm fine. We should be hurrying on, shouldn't we?" Asch replied solemnly as the pain started to take over his stoic disposition.

"Your thoughts aren't safe here, you know. You may be blocking Luke, but I know what you're thinking."

Asch gave a suspicious glance over at him, but responded, " We have to finish this before I completely disappear, so it really doesn't matter how I feel."

The boy gave a scoff in response and they gathered up Luke, who was making snow angels in the black powder before heading down the cobblestone streets.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Luke asked.

"All the way back to where the story began; Nebilim's house. All Dist really wants is to go back, back before the horrible accident, back to when Jade and he were just schoolboys. It's pitiful that it's come to this, isn't it?" The boy replied.

They continued walking until they were passing by the grounds where the hotel stood. Horrible shrieks and sobs were echoing out from the dark mist that surrounded the building. Faces were suddenly visible within the swirling darkness, most of them torn up with flesh missing and tears welling up in their bloodshot eyes. Transparent figures began stumbling out of the darkness of the building and crying out to Luke and Asch, begging for death and mercy.

"Whatever you do, don't look. Keep walking, but don't run, that'll send them into a frenzy." The boy said quietly as he averted his eyes from Luke and Asch's pained faces.

/He isn't one of them; that means he didn't die in the hotel./

"What are they, I mean, why are they all in so much pain?" Luke sobbed as his voice cracked.

"When the hotel in reality was destroyed, it was at the exact same time as when Dist was reconstructing the one here down in the spirit world. It created a paradox within this world, and those people, they're stuck there forever. Dist uses it as a dumping ground now, for all the failed replicas he's tried to create. It's disgusting how he could treat replicas, like real people, as if they were trash." The boy muttered back while keeping his gaze on the ground.

Suddenly Asch felt a tug on the back on the back of his leg and impulsively looked down to see a collapsed and mangled figure weakly reaching out to him. It was the same boy he'd seen back when they were first in the hotel, the body he that had been so helplessly trapped within the rubble.

"You did this to us, all of us... You deserve to suffer like the rest of us, trapped in the black hell while begging for the sweet mercy of death... You disgusting, horrible person, how could you do this to us, we were just innocent people! What did we ever do to you!" The boy sobbed as his nails sunk into Asch's ankle.

"Asch, look away, now!"

"You deserve to spend an eternity trapped in that black hell instead of pretending that it didn't happen! You killed hundreds of innocent people, and you don't even care!" The boy shrieked over Luke's voice.

Asch stared helplessly at the bright red blood covering the boys face, the same color matching his eyes. His leg was missing and his clothes were torn apart, showing off crimson slashes and missing patches of skin.

"Look what you've done to me!" The boy sobbed and sunk his sharp, black nails deeper into Asch's ankle.

Luke and the other little boy were shouting out, calling his name and tugging at the back of his clothes, but Asch mind was lost in a torrent of pain and all he could hear were the screams and wails of the ghosts.

Suddenly a group of them surrounded him and were violently tugging and screaming and begging at his body, some assaulting him with blunt objects and others pulling at his hair. A woman in front of him was crying out for death so that she could be reunited with her son, who'd already been killed in the bloody destruction of the building.

"Go with them, you vile creature. You don't deserve to live." The boy on the ground sneered.

Asch found himself stumbling toward the dark veil over the building, as the ghosts prodded at his back and jeered him on.

/They're right, I do deserve this. Luke can handle Dist; he's the weakest god general of them all. Why should I be allowed to be happy when I've killed all these innocent people?/

There were four steps between him and the abyss, but his legs seemed much heavier than before.

"Do you really think you could live with yourself after killing us all?"

He took another shaky step forward.

"You killed my little boy! My only child, the light of my life; you ripped him from my arms and now he's going to be tortured forever in this hell!"

Asch squeezed his eyes shut and took two more steps forward, although it felt as if there were weights tied around his ankles and he had to force everything within himself to move.

"It's the last step, you coward. Time to face your crimes like the murderer you are," said the boy who first called out to him, but Asch refused to look back over at him or even open his eyes.

/This is it./

No matter how much he tried to move forward, he felt immobile as if someone was pulling him backwards. After struggling with the unknown force he finally lifted up his leg and the darkness soon welcomed it, with needle like jabs thrusting through his leg. The screams of the people within the whirlwind were much louder than before, although most of them were not directed at him and were just exclamations of pain and suffering.

He couldn't seem to force himself any farther in and reopened his eyes to see two arms wrapped tight around his waist. He slowly turned his head around and saw Luke screaming his name with tears in his eyes, and the little boy was wrapped around Luke to help pull, too.

Asch instantly snapped out of his trance when he saw Luke's face, and stopped trying to force his way forward, instead falling backward. Luke caught him and he could feel himself being dragged, but his mind was still reeling from the horrid noises that everything felt like a blurry mess.

* * *

"No one ever listens to me." The boy sighed as he paced back and forth.

"Asch?" Luke called out as held his face with both of his hands.

He slowly opened his eyes and then flinched when he saw Luke, but slowly calmed down. Asch forced Luke's hands away from his face and sat up, but it was obvious by the fatigue in his eyes that he was barely staying conscious.

"How long was I-" Asch mumbled, but then stopped as he widened his eyes in shock.

"You were out long enough not to hear this kid scream and bawl, that's for sure. Seems like when you had your little episode back there, the barrier you created within your head shattered and Luke got to see all the sweet memories you were hiding, along with the pain. Once you both have recomposed yourselves, we need to get going because we don't have too much time left, if you know what I mean, Asch. Oh wait, I guess Luke knows too now, doesn't he?" The boy said while narrowing his eyes over at Asch but gracefully walked away to go sit on a bench.

"Luke, I'm so sorry, I-"

"You aren't going to really disappear, are you? You can't, I won't let you!" Luke sobbed out over him before throwing himself on Asch.

Asch didn't even tense up this time when Luke touched him; It might be one of the last times he'd ever see him again. Asch finally broke down from his indifferent nature and tightly wrapped himself around Luke, too, but didn't say a word. Luke buried his head in Asch's chest and sobbed out protests and incoherent sentences. Eventually Asch pulled Luke's head from his chest and murmured, "We have to finish what we came here to do. But, first, I want to destroy that horrible hotel. It's the only way to set them free, it's the only way to-"

"Don't you remember, Asch? Once we finally pulled you away you fought against me until you could stand and then shot out a bright arte that enveloped the entire building. The arte, it was that same haunting melody from before when we were on the ship, and it overpowered the screams of the ghosts and suddenly everything was so bright that I had to hide my eyes. When I opened them, you were collapsed on the ground and the darkness that surrounded the building was gone. You already saved them, Asch." Luke said as he wiped the tears out of his eyes and helped him up.

/Am I losing my memory too?/

They were hidden behind a group of pine trees just before a warm looking house, filled with all the colors that a normal looking house would have; even the evergreen trees around it had the correct forest green hue. All the snow around this area was a rich white and even though it fell from the sky black, when it landed it shifted from dark to light.

"I didn't save them. I killed them." Asch finally said bitterly.

"You know you aren't the only one who destroyed that hotel, but you have to accept it regardless. Are you ready to kill Dist, too? This is all a waste of time if you aren't." The boy responded as he walked back over to the pair.

"I'm going to end this while I still can. I will destroy him, even if it kills me." Asch replied determinedly.

"Try not to die so you can keep your promise, of course." The boy cheerfully answered.

Luke gave a pained look over at Asch, but he pretended to ignore it and followed the boy's lead. They crept from the shade of the pine trees over to a window with light emanating from it and the boy whispered, "Hold on, I'll turn myself translucent and slip into the room to check it out. You two wait here."

Luke and Asch nodded in response as the boy slipped through the brick and left them in silence outside. The snow was picking up once again, dotting their hair and clothes with delicate, white powder. It felt as if they were in a little snow-globe; the way there was a bubble of color hidden within the black and white wasteland outside of it.

The boy suddenly dissipated back out in front of them and Asch instinctively covered Luke's mouth before he could yell in fright. The boy rolled his eyes and then said, "It's just Dist and Nebilim in there, although there's more creepy stuff. It seems harmless enough, but from the fear in that woman's eyes I can tell something is up."

"Let's barge right on in there then!" Luke whispered cheerfully and stood up.

* * *

/How could we have been so careless?/

Asch tried to pick himself off the plush carpet, but all the strength in his body seemed to have been stolen and a heavy force pressed him down to the floor.

The little boy was panting as he dodged blow after blow from an arsenal of artes, while Luke seemed shackled to the ground as much as he was.

"Did you really think you could take on me, the fabulous creator of an entire world? You're all just filthy replicas, trying to tarnish my precious city and my precious professor!" Dist called out as he shot out arte after arte.

/Of course; he had the same training as Jade, and he could have easily amplified his skills when he imbedded himself with the eighth fonon. We're no match for him; we're going to die here!/

Asch was holding up a thin barrier to protect Luke and himself from Dist's relentless attacks, but he knew that it'd only be minutes before it was broken.

"Dist, stop it!" Nebilim cried out from the back of the room. Dist had forced her to stand behind him against her will, claiming that it was for her own protection.

Her screams left a momentary lapse in his assault, allowing Asch and Luke to pull themselves from the floor and retaliate. All of their artes seemed useless, however, as Dist easily fended off the roaring flames and vicious torrents of wind and water with a flick of the wrist.

The entire room was torn up from the attacks from both sides of the battle with scorch marks and dents everywhere.

"You bastard! You can't just destroy reality to live in your own fantasy! Nebilim doesn't even love you, she's just afraid of the madness in your head!" Asch yelled as he shot out another burst of flames.

"How dare you say that you vile, little creature! I created you, don't you remember? How could you hate me when I gave you your life back!" Dist cried out as he fought off the flames, although they were much closer to hurting him than before.

/His emotions; that's the only way of hurting him!/

"The eighth fonon, Asch! That's the only way you can penetrate the barrier!" The boy called out as he was blown back into the wall.

"I don't know how to use it!" He replied as he hit the floor to dodge a blow of lightning and pure electricity that rumbled through the room.

Luke was struggling to stand and his movements were sluggish, causing Asch to keep throwing up barriers to prevent him from being set aflame or frozen to death.

"You leave yourself wide open when you try to protect others, Asch!" The ghost yelled, but Asch could barely hear him over the impact of a slicing air current that threw him back and smashed him against the wall. A follow-up attack of flames and fury was headed straight for him, and his weak barrier was quickly dissolving against the strong arte.

A loud crackling sound filled the room as the fire seemed to work its way through his barrier of light until the sound of shattering glass filled the room.

"Asch, no!" Luke shrieked out over the sound of nails scraping against chalkboard.


	19. Star-Crossed Lovers

"Luke! Luuuke? Hey, wake up!" Guy said as he prodded the lifeless figure.

"This is a disaster! Why does he pick now to fall apart?" Anise wailed as she paced around the empty hall.

"No. This must have something to do with Asch. Luke wouldn't randomly pass out on his own; they're up to something." Tear replied as she bent over to feel Luke's forehead.

"What gives you that idea?" Sync asked enthusiastically.

"Whenever Luke is talking to Asch, you can see it all over his face; he doesn't even try to hide his expressions. While we were walking I could definitely tell he was arguing with him by all the sour faces he was making. I wouldn't doubt if Jade's having the same issue with his idiotic redhead, too." She replied with a loud sigh.

"Do you think that when the body dies, the spirit does too, Tear?"

"Uhm, What an odd question to ask, Guy. Don't we have a bigger problem to deal with than philosophy?" Tear replied without looking up. Suddenly a sharp pain exploded from the middle of her back and she cried out in pain.

She slowly looked over her shoulder in horror and saw a blade sticking out of her back, along with a smirking Guy.

"What the hell, Guy!?" Anise and Sync yelled out simultaneously.

"Guys, t-that's not me."

Everyone looked behind themselves and saw another Guy who looked as if he were going to throw up at the sight of the other.

"How does it go again? "Enter the amazing Guy!", right?" He joked while pulling his blade out of Tear. He kicked her away from Luke's body and held out his sword over the other's unconscious head.

"What does the spirit do when it has nowhere to return?"

* * *

"Hmmph, this is where your pitiful struggle ends. Did you really think you could defy me, the beautiful Dist?" He said although there was an undeniable pang of guilt in his words.

Luke ignored him and ran through the cloud of smoke over to Asch's side. Although the smoke and debris filled the entire space, it was almost as if the building itself hadn't been harmed at all. After a few moments of stumbling around in the cloudy space, someone from behind hooked his arm around Luke's legs and forced him down to the ground.

He felt himself slam down onto the ground with a loud thud, and looked over to see Asch with a finger over his mouth persuading Luke not to talk. Seconds after a flash of lightning passed over their heads right where Luke had stood.

\Stay quiet; silence is our only option now. If we can't defeat him with pure strength, we'll have to come up with a plan.\

"You can't hide forever!"

/Asch, you're alive! What happened? What are we going to do? How-/

Asch grabbed his arm and dove across the room as a wall of fire passed by them. Luke held in his gasp of terror at the heat still on his back, knowing that it would only get worse if he made a sound.

\That boy, he saved me.\

/Are you saying he's-/

\Spirits like that can't die, Luke. He just lost the ability to manifest himself. I finally understand what he wants from me. Nevermind, we have a bigger issue to deal with.\

Asch stood up from the floor and yelled out, "We aren't hiding, Dist! We just don't want to see that hideous face of yours." He swiftly ran across the room and Luke followed in suit as an arte blew past where they'd been standing.

\Say something, anything, and then change your position. Dist is no match in hand to hand combat, so if we can get close enough, we might be able to take him down.\

"How dare you say that, you insufferable little science experiment!"

Luke looked around and realized Asch was no longer next to him, meaning it was his turn to draw attention to himself. "Who are you calling a science experiment, you, uhm, pink-haired, uh, ugly-"

He had no time to finish as the air around him began to crackle and he sidestepped to the left to avoid the arte.

\That was one of the worst comebacks I've ever heard. Even from you, that was terrible.\

* * *

"You two think you can mess around with me? I'm Dist the Rose and such an intelligent person could never be tarnished by your cheap insults." He yelled back. A whirlwind of bright green currents suddenly enveloped the room, clearing out the smoke and leaving Luke and Asch wide open.

Asch was closer than Luke expected and he watched as Asch lunged forward and uppercut Dist right in the stomach, causing him to stagger backwards as all the air was forced out of his lungs. He gasped for air while letting out a couple of curses and Asch readied his next attack.

"You call yourself elegant but you curse like a sailor!" Luke said as he rushed forward.

Asch groaned at his terrible insult and instead focused on Dist, who had already recovered when Asch was distracted. A blade constructed from condensed electricity and piercing ice made a stab straight at him and although he tried to dodge it, he was too late.

"Asch, your shoulder!" Luke cried out.

Asch didn't dare to look down at it; from the pain that was already wrapping itself around his head, he already knew how bad it was.

Instead he took a step forward and punched Dist right between the eyes, causing his glasses to shatter and blood to trickle down from the impact.

"No matter how hard you try to call yourself elegant, or beautiful, you know it isn't true. You're nothing."

This time he jabbed his elbow right in the same spot he'd first attacked him, leaving Dist heaving for air as if he were drowning.

"You even created your own world to escape the people who hate you; to escape everyone. Even if you hide here, even if you protect the one person you care about, she will still hate you."

Dist fell to the ground and had no strength except to back away from Asch's towering figure.

"No matter where you go, no matter how hard you try to hide, you can never escape your own disgusting mind. You've caused all of this; your own insecurities destroyed you. People aren't the problem, Dist. You're the problem."

Asch was bashing him now with no mercy in a flurry of kicks and punches as Dist crumpled up against the wall while sobbing out apologies and begging for mercy. He picked him up by the front of his shirt and held him up against the wall with his fist raised. Both of them were covered in blood, although most of the blood on Asch was Dist's.

"Do you really think "I'm sorry" is an excuse for the hell you put me through? I don't have any pity for someone as pathetic as you. You're a worthless piece of trash in everyone's eyes. _You are nothing_."

Dist shut his eyes and sobbed as Asch readied himself for the last blow.

"Asch, stop it!" Nebilim yelled out, and Asch snapped out of his trance and looked behind him. Both Luke and she were staring at him in horror, and he looked down at himself to see the blood all over him, unable to determine how much of it was from the wound on his shoulder or Dist's own.

/Asch the Bloody, right up to the very end./

"You don't have to do this, Asch." Luke murmured quietly as he put a hand on Asch's shoulder. He winced in pain at Luke's touch, but after a few moments he let go of Dist and let him crumple to the floor.

Asch looked down at the sorry state Dist was in and couldn't help but pity the miserable creature before him.

/How could I pity him, after all of this?/

"P-professor N-nebilim." Dist whimpered out as she walked closer to him.

"Dist, you know I would've never wanted any of this. Do you realize all those people you killed? All the families you've destroyed? Those were all people who someone else loved, just as you did for me. They all lost their lives for some petty dream of yours, and in the end, this didn't even make you happy. It never would've been enough. I did love you, I truly did, but that will never be enough because you never even liked yourself. Other people can't fill the hole you created within yourself; your own self-hatred, and denial of it, destroyed you in the end. I'm sorry it had to end like this, my precious student."

She bit back her tears and stroked his bloody hair, causing a faint smile to slip out from his pale lips. She winced and looked away before standing up and meeting up with Asch and Luke.

"So, what now?" She murmured, trying to sound strong only to end up with her voice cracking.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Asch murmured back, but she cut him off.

"No, you did the right thing. I wouldn't have been strong enough to do it myself." She replied.

"Is he... dead?" Luke asked as he looked over Asch's shoulder to see the bloody figure.

"No but, when I destroy the building his physical body will be destroyed with it. There's no point in causing him any more pain than he's already in. We both can finally rest in peace." She sobbed out, losing her composure.

Luke embraced her and waited a few moments before realizing what she said. "Both of you? What do you mean, 'we'?"

"I'm going to destroy this, all of it, and I'm going to go down with it. It's my responsibility to take care of all of this, including every loose end. Including me. I'm the only one who can decode the system and destroy this parallel world, too."

"What about Asch?" Luke asked quietly.

"He doesn't have long left, does he? I think he deserves to live his last few days happily." She replied quietly while wiping away tears.

Asch didn't respond for a long time until he finally said, "I can take you all with me since I can step between both worlds. Let's end this."

* * *

Luke opened his eyes only to suddenly roll to the side, hearing the clang of metal as it collided with the tile floor. He sat up while gasping for air, but had little recovery time as another blow sliced right past his ear. It left a ringing noise in the air next to him, and he pulled himself to a standing position before yelling, "What the hell, Guy?"

He looked around and saw all his comrades bloody and barely standing with disbelief painted all over their faces. Then he noticed Guy, one to the left who looked untouched and a bloody one to the right, leaned on one knee as he gasped for breath.

He was thoroughly confused, until it finally hit him. "Replica!" He shouted as he took out his sword.

"Look who's talking. Your friends don't look so good do they? It's too bad, I was only seconds away from smashing your skull open." He sighed with true disappointment in his voice.

"He runs so fast it's impossible to get a hit in, and even if we do, he regenerates almost immediately!" Anise panted as she hid behind a ripped up Tokunaga.

"An eighth fonon replica?" Luke gasped, but had no time to think as he clashed swords with the other.

"Luke, have you seen one of these before? Wait, what the hell happened to you?" Guy said as he tried to get up to aid him.

"Their attacks may be stronger than any human, but their minds are just as weak as ours!" Luke replied as he ducked and tried to strike the opening Guy left.

/I don't think I ever won a sword fight against him as a kid. He's swift, nimble, and defensive. You can only overpower him with pure strength with technique that flawless./

Tear seemed to understand what Luke was getting at and ran forward, getting as close to Guy as possible. He was so occupied with Luke that he failed to care about the woman since her staff had long since broken, and she was completely defenseless.

"I'd back away, honey. Wouldn't want to see that pretty face of yours hurt." He jeered while swinging at Luke.

/She's covered in blood.../

She ignored him and edged forward before murmuring, "Not all women are so bad. What about your sister, Guy? Do you ever think about her?"

He seemed a little taken aback by the question and winced a little, allowing Luke to break his guard and get a quick swipe in. Guy dodged it still, but the tear in his clothes was unmistakable.

"Last chance, sweetie! Get any closer and I'll cut that mouth of yours right off!" He yelled, losing the joking tone he'd had before. His attacks were a little more sloppy and fueled with rage, allowing Luke to dance around his swipes with much more ease.

"Does it hurt to think about her? How much you care for and miss her? But you know, she never thinks about you. She never knew you, not this Guy. How does it feel to have absolutely no one care about you, but you still seem to have memories about them? It must be lonely, in fact, I can't imagine how empty you feel all the time." she said, almost so close that she was whispering in his ear.

The corners of his mouth were twitching, but he didn't reply and swung straight down at Luke only to be blocked by Luke's sideways facing sword, leaving the two clashing steel as Guy tried to bring down his sword to cut him in two. Tear leaned in a little closer and put her hand on his shoulder while he was distracted, breathing down his neck and murmuring something Luke couldn't hear.

He turned away from Luke and swung out behind him while roaring, "Get away from me you witch! You disgusting, fowl-"

He let out a gasp and turned back to glance at Luke, then diverted his eyes down at his stomach. Luke's sword was speared right through him, and the blood was already starting to stain and spread like wildfire. Tear had already backed away and the group let out a cry of success, but Luke still felt wary and tried to pull his sword back out. He felt his boots sliding on the ground as he heaved to get the sword back out, but it was no use; it was lodged within the replica.

Guy regained his composure after a few seconds and looked over his shoulder at Luke before smirking and bursting out into a fit of laughter. Everyone looked around nervously as his laughter echoed around the halls.

His laughter finally died down and he said, "This is a joke, right?"

The replica grabbed Luke's sword still stuck through him and pulled it out the other end. He smashed the blade over his knee and it snapped in two, tossing aside the broken pieces and then fixating back on Luke.

"It was a good effort, I'll give you that. But in the end, you'll all die just the same. I think I will start with you." He jeered while pointing his sword at Luke.

Luke back-stepped to get away but tripped on a piece of the broken sword. Falling ungracefully, he landed on his back and cowered under Guy's towering figure.

"Any last words? Begging and pleading might get you a couple more seconds if you really want them." The blade was waving straight in front of his face, causing him to go cross-eyed when he looked straight at it.

"Luke, no!" Tear cried out.

Guy narrowed his eyes and looked back to see Tear collapsed on the ground while reaching out toward him. Tears were brimming at her eyes and she was a sorry sight with the blood running down her face and splattered on her clothes. Guy took another look back over to Luke, then back at Tear, and pulled his blade away from Luke's face.

"I'm not particularly fond of your irritating mouth." He murmured and sauntered to her flinching body.

Luke could feel his heart beating faster than his mind could think, but his feet were slower than his mouth was. He couldn't seem to pull himself out of his petrified state of fear, and Guy was already standing over Tear.

"Please!" She whimpered while keeping her eyes locked on the ground. He put his sword right under her chin and lifted it up until she was looking straight back at him.

"'Please' what?" He murmured while holding the blade daintily across her cheek. He slid it ever-so-slightly that it made a cut that dripped out delicate little raindrops all over her downcast face.

It took her a while to answer, until she finally sobbed out, "Don't take him away from us again!" Please! Kill me instead!"

He looked back over at Luke, who was trying to force out a protest through his shocked state, and then back at Tear. "A noble sacrifice for the two star-crossed lovers? I'd be much obliged, m'lady."

Guy tensed up his hand on the blade and pulled it back for a cleaner cut, and gave her a sincere smile. She was no longer crying, but kept her eyes open and fixated on the others. She looked stronger than she had a couple of minutes ago, but weakness still tainted her blue gaze. Everyone was yelling and pleading at this point, everyone except for Luke, who was still frozen in the same spot as before.

His trembling lips finally forced out a weak voice that was almost hidden beneath the ringing in his ears, but strong enough for Tear to hear. She stopped looking up at Guy and glanced at Luke. It was a moment of peace within the pandemonium of everyone else around, and only the two seemed to notice. Her pale face was graced with a rosy pink and an attempt at a smile; that was the bravest she could muster. The words she said matched his own, in the same wavering tone but much more powerful in meaning.

/I love you./

* * *

"Like Hell!" A voice shouted from the hall. Guy paid it no mind and began his slash straight through her neck. As the blade began to pass through her skin, it grew a dark color and began to dissolve right into thin air in a cloud of dark mist. Guy looked around angrily before throwing the empty hilt against the floor.

"Dematerializing a weapon? That's classy, even for you, Asch." Jade jeered as the quickly intercepted the group.

Asch rolled his eyes and passed right through the injured party and over to the three farther down.

"Look who decided to show up!" The replica hollered, but his jovial tone didn't match the anger in his eyes.

"It's time to settle the score, asshole!" Asch yelled back while advancing towards him.

"There's a reason I use two blades, you know. I've always got an extra!" He said while grinning like a madman.

"Asch! You don't have a weapon!" Luke said as he tried to pull himself up. He was sliced up in a couple different places, but nothing looked fatal. Tear, on the other hand, had some serious wounds, but if she could get away he knew she could take care of herself.

\All his wounds from the spirit world... he still has them! Why didn't any of mine transfer over?!\

"Shut up! Tear, grab him and get out of here if you don't want to be roasted too!" Asch said while stepping forward.

/Luke... all of his wounds are recent. Why didn't any of his transfer over to his mortal body?/

Guy didn't even bother to try to stop Tear and Luke's feeble escape, and instead fixated on Asch. Luke was crying out against Tear, fighting against her to remain at Asch's side.

"Luke, don't try to argue with me on this! Just stay put, dreck!" Asch yelled back.

/Ouch, I haven't used that insult in a while. I'm going to catch hell for that later./

If there was a later. After all, Asch had no idea how much time he had left.

/Forget it, I have bigger problems to deal with./

Guy's sword went whizzing past his head as he ducked and Asch retaliated with a burst of flames. Guy jumped around them while laughing, timing his swipes perfectly to cut right through the fire.

"Finally, someone who knows how to play!" He yelled out as he thrust his sword straight at Asch's stomach. Even though Asch sidestepped, he wasn't lucky enough to escape the attack completely and the blade tore at his hip. He hissed in pain but didn't flinch; instead, he took advantage of Guy's opening and managed to land a sizzling blow.

Guy's entire left half of his body from the waist up dissolved into ashes, although he didn't seem bothered by it at all. Everyone down the hall from Asch gave a collective gasp, but no one said anthing as the charred replica stood there nonchalantly.

Asch staggered back from Guy's dissolving body and wiped some of the blood off his face with the back of his hand. When he glanced back at his hand he realized he could see the floor right through his pale and bloodied complexion; his hand was transparent. He jumped in shock as it faded from opaque to translucent repeatedly, as if his skin was struggling to decide between the two options. Eventually it returned back to normal and he looked up, only to meet the sneering form of Guy.

/He's regenerated completely?!/

"It's all or nothing with us replicas. I'm not going easy on you this time!" Guy said as he lunged forward.

Asch barely managed to dodge this blow, and the others that followed after it. Everything was getting blurry, but he couldn't tell from blood loss or his fonons separating. Guy easily intercepted his heavy movements, slicing up Asch until he could barely stand. No matter how many artes he used, they weren't powerful enough to overtake Guy completely, and he regenerated seconds after.

"Looks like you're reaching your limit, although I guess you had a disadvantage to start with. Does that wound on your head hurt as much as I enjoyed doing it? That's a pretty nasty rip on your shoulder too, isn't it?" He said. He'd backed off from Asch and was just toying with him now, nicking him and then stepping back to laugh.

/I can't lose it here. Not when everyone's depending on me, not after coming this far. It's all or nothing at this point. I guess I have to do a little gambling with fate./

"It's time to end this. Goodbye, Asch." Guy said while narrowing his eyes. Asch shook the light-headed feeling out of his body and closed his eyes, waiting for the right moment. His vision was so blurry that it would only hinder him at this point.

"Goodbye." He replied, and then held out both his hands in front of him. It started off only as a little spark, but as soon as he snapped it roared into the air and ripped through all the oxygen, filling the room with white-hot flames. Guy's blade sizzled and broke apart into flittery black ashs, waltzing around the fire. The flames danced around the walls, carving themselves little homes within the paint. Guy let out a nervous outcry against the flames biting at him, and then a full on scream as they began to envelop his body.

"I had fun playing with you." Guy said weakly as he held out his hand from within the blaze with a sympathetic look in his eyes. His eyes reminded Asch of when they used to be friends, running around the manor fighting with sticks and tracking mud everywhere. This Guy surely had those memories by the way he was looking at him, with such weakness and happiness all mixed together. His words were so childish and so nostalgic that they bit almost as hard as the flames did, but Asch knew better than to let his feelings get the best of him.

/His own loneliness consumed him./

Asch reached out to meet his hand, but as he touched it Guy's skin turned to ash and the soot gracefully sailed down to the floor in a smoldering pile.

/So did mine./

The flames died down and when they finally sizzled out, Asch made sure there was no trace of him left. A small pile of ash, not even any bones, remained where Guy had been standing. He weakly kicked at the pile, sending it flying in all different directions and dissolving out of sight.

He stumbled his way back over to the party after checking to make sure he wasn't still transparent and putting on a brave face.

"Way to kick that bastard's ass, Asch!" Anise cheered and ran over to him for a high-five.

Asch looked down at his hand but couldn't bring it up to meet hers; what if he just passed right through her hand? Instead he weakly smiled at her and walked over to Jade.

"Your power truly is remarkable, isn't it? Oh don't worry, Luke filled us in on everything that happened." He said before Asch could start. Jade gave a wary glance over at Guy and Anise before continuing.

"You sealed your fate by performing that arte, and I thank you for such a noble sacrifice."

Asch was taken aback, but managed to mumble out, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever little time you had left, you sacrificed for our escape. Let's not linger here and have it all been in vain." He replied, pushing up his glasses and walking past him over to Anise and Guy.

* * *

"Man, do we really have to climb all the way back up this rope?" Anise whined as she pulled on it.

"We don't have enough time." Asch breathed out as he looked at the metal below him.

"Don't have enough time? What do you mean?" Luke said, but then suddenly understood as a low vibration began to rise from beneath them.

/Nebilim's already set this building to self destruct ages ago! How are we going to get all the way up there?/

As if an answer to his question, he felt himself being pulled up off the ground and into a weightless float inches above the bottom of the hole. Everyone let out a cry of disbelief and he looked around to see he wasn't the only one floating; everyone had little swirls of misty green air currents surrounding their feet.

"We're flying!" Anise said dreamily as she twirled from left to right in the air.

Sync appeared as amused as everyone else, and played along with Anise as they floated in circles.

/Ion's definitely in there. The real Ion, the one we all knew./

Luke looked over at everyone as they tried to get their bearings on the new sense of gravity, and Guy was currently upside down while crying out for help while Anise and Sync frantically tried to stop spinning. Jade and Tear were clearing their throats as if they weren't trying to laugh, although Tear had almost lost her balance while holding in her laughter.

Asch was warily eyeing everyone and making sure that he had balanced out the correct amount of fonons for each person. His pale complexion highlighted the blood caked to his skin and his face looked gaunt and full of shadows as he forced himself to stay up. The magic spell everyone else seemed to be under was broken for Luke; it suddenly hit him how little strength Asch had left and how much he was being forced to do.

Suddenly Asch realized Luke was looking right back at him with a perplexed look, causing Asch to panic. He quickly looked down at himself and held out his hands, calming down once he saw his palms. He shot another guilty glance over at Luke, but didn't make eye contact and instead shut his eyes.

"Asch?" Luke said weakly.

"Alright, everyone, we're going up." He said over him. Jade met Luke's anxious glance and pursed his lips, but didn't say anything.

* * *

"Phew, it feels nice to be back on solid ground again." Anise said happily as she hugged a nearby tree.

"W-where w-were y-you g-g-guys?"

Anise jumped back from the tree and a freezing Natalia revealed herself as she chattered from beneath the branches. She brushed the snow off herself and glared at everyone indignantly.

"Well-" Guy started, but the rumbling beneath his feet soon overpowered his feeble apology.

Within seconds a bright, white light shot out from the center of the depression of the ground and Jade motioned for everyone to get as far away as possible. They all sat up on a hill overlooking the hole and watched the white light burst into a bright aurora in the night sky, masking the twinkling stars with waves of colors. Asch squinted down at the bottom and saw two grey figures staring right back at him as they slowly dissolved into the light.

\Thank you, Asch, for everything.\

The two voices clouded his head at once, but he smiled at the words nonetheless and watched as the misty figures changed from black to white as they joined the other colors in the sky. The white light soon faded afterward, leaving behind only the colors swirling above them.

"Did she say goodbye?" Luke asked quietly when he noticed Asch's demeanor. He slowly looked over at him and then gave a stiff nod before looking away.

/Don't cry, dammit!/

Everything fell quiet and everyone sat in silence, all lost in their own thoughts. Asch stood up and walked away to a different spot, hoping to recompose himself before they all decided to leave. He found a higher seat on the hill and collapsed down in the snow, staring blankly up at the stars while his head rested on a pillow of snow.

"I thought you were dead, Asch."

Asch heard the voice but didn't register it; he just kept looking up at the twinkling lights without a response.

"Asch, answer me!"

He sat up but didn't turn around, tensing up his shoulders and holding his knees in tight as if he were hiding from the voice.

/You're only going to break Natalia's heart all over again. Don't talk to her. Don't look to her. Don't-/

He heard the snow shift behind him and accidentally glanced back at her teary eyed face.

"I missed you so much, Asch, I can't bear to think you might have died!" She cried out and reached out to embrace him.

"Don't-" He said sternly, but she did anyway.

He winced as he didn't feel her touch, her warmth, her love. Everything passed right through him, and he didn't want open up his eyes. Her sobs grew louder than before, and she kept yelling and screaming at him to open his eyes, look back at her, say anything. But he didn't feel, he couldn't, and he refused to lose his composure in front of her within his last moments.

Suddenly he felt a punch land into his jaw and he opened his eyes to realize he hadn't disappeared completely yet. He rubbed his jaw and looked over at her bewildered face.

"I'm sorry, Asch, I didn't mean to-"

"Natalia." He said softly. She stopped talking and nodded for him to go on while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Didn't we make a promise? It doesn't matter if I'm here or not, you have to keep that promise." He said softly while brushing her hair away from her watery eyes.

"Someday, when we're grown up, let's change this country. Change it so that no one has to be poor. Change it so that war never happens." They both repeated the words at the same time.

"I realize how blind I really was. I can't believe I was about to agree to a war, or even-" She broke off into sobs again, and grabbed at Asch's chest while sobbing.

"You're going to get blood all over you." He whispered quietly.

She took a few moments before pulling herself away and stood up while holding her hand out. He grabbed her hand and pulled himself to a shaky stance.

/I guess nothing else really needs to be said. We were never meant for each other. This is how it ends, our pitiful little love story./

A few seconds later his hand fell right through hers, and she said quietly without turning around, " I don't understand, Asch. Why are you disappearing? Why is this all happening?"

"I don't know, Natalia. But I can't disappear yet. I still have one more promise to keep."


	20. Lost and Found

It was a brisk and tense walk away from that abyss left in the ground, but after much careful inspection from Jade, he deemed it to be nothing short of a sinkhole for wasted fonons. Asch walked farther ahead of the group, hoping to make it back to town before he passed out from exhaustion. Or worse, having Natalia and Luke fawn over him as he lost his footing in the thick snow.

"Guys, where's Sync?" Anise said frantically. Everyone stopped climbing up to look back at her as she twirled around in all directions, looking for a speck of green among the pine trees.

They all looked around with paled faces, locking eyes with each other and then fearfully looking back at Anise. She was kicking around snow and searching for Sync as if he was a lost toy hiding within the misty white haze that surrounded them.

"He was just behind me!" She yelled as she began to head back down the trail. Asch walked forward and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to suddenly stop dead in her tracks.

"He was behind me, I swear! We have to go look for him." She mumbled without looking back at Asch.

He didn't reply but looked over at Jade with pursed lips and then asked, "Do we actually know where any of the God Generals are right now?"

Everyone stayed silent, until Asch broke the silence once again. "Did anyone other than Anise and I see Sync at the bottom of that pit?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes before forcing out a weak voice asking, "How did he die?"

Anise broke out in sobs, protesting Asch's words and trying to shake herself free of his grip, but soon after she slipped down into the snow in a teary silence.

"He was protecting you, Anise, and we-" Guy stopped mid-sentence and then continued on weakly, "we just weren't quick enough."

"No! I saw him! So did you, Asch, you just said you saw him! It wasn't just Sync, either! Ion was there-" Asch stiffly picked Anise up from the flattened snow, and carried her princess-style untill he was scaling his way up the icy cliffs. She was pitching a royal fit, screaming and elbowing Asch in all the wrong places, but he bit his tongue and continued to push past the pain needling his body.

/Me and Ion, we'd always been friends. I mean, he always pissed me off, but he never seemed to grow tired of me. Knowing you killed the one you love must be so…./

"Ion was there, Anise." She stopped squirming and looked back up at him in silence, but then dutifully nodded her head and tucked her face into his tunic.

The fresh, crisp air stung his nose and froze his lips, but it felt much nicer to be numb.

* * *

No one protested to Asch watching over Anise, and they all walked silently behind the pair who were silently murmuring.

"It's something we'll definitely never understand." Jade said stiffly as he readjusted his glasses to clear out the snow.

Luke looked at the four sullen faces, all diverting their eye contact, before he blurted out, "You all saw someone, too!"

Everyone looked up at him in surprise before exchanging weary glances with each other. Tear was the first to give up the ghost and whispered, "I thought I saw my brother, no, I saw Van standing there just before the light disappeared. He even said... no, never mind."

"Largo was waiting with me before you guys appeared. I thought I'd gone crazy but, with everything happening, maybe I really did see him." Natalia whispered as she tightened her grip on her bow.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about... Luke?" Guy inquired as he kicked up some snow.

/There was no one for Guy to see, I guess./

Luke looked farther up the trail and saw Asch's blood soaked tunic from behind. His footsteps were struggled but graceful, and he was obviously teasing Anise by her loud protests and insults.

"No one." Luke replied somberly.

"There was no one there. Jade?" Luke said quietly as he looked over at him.

"Right, let's keep going. All our work will be wasted if we freeze to death out here in the snow." He said stiffly and quickened up his steps so he was walking alone farther ahead.

* * *

Suddenly there was a loud thud followed by some not-so-ladylike curses from Anise.

"Hey, you could have just put my down instead of dropping me like that! It really hurt, you know that!" She shouted while rubbing the back of her head.

Asch looked down at her in horror, not from the minor bruises she had, but because he could see right through his own arms. What he'd mistaken for numbness was really just his fonons separating, although this time was much worse. The transparency was more than just a few passing seconds confined to his hands, and the separation crawled its way up to his elbows.

He quickly hid his arms behind his back and tried to force out an apology, but a dizzy spell came on so quickly that his throat seized up, and his breath was impossible to catch from the oppressive night air.

/Dammit, we're finally at the entrance of the town, too. Couldn't this have waited for a few more minutes?/

He closed his eyes and tried to wait it out, hoping for it to go away as quickly as it came, but Asch knew that he wasn't going to be able to get away with this one. When he recomposed himself enough to open his eyes, he saw Luke with his face close next to his, yelling something. But it all sounded muffled, as if he were underwater and everyone else seemed to be sitting up on the dock.

A stinging suddenly crept its way up his body and his mind went into a panic before he realized that was a good thing; the pain meant that the feeling was starting to return back to his body. Luke's cold hands were pressed lightly against his jaw line, his fingertips frigid against Asch's torn skin. He impulsively forced him away with an outstretched arm. Asch didn't have time to feel remorse for the hurt look in Luke's eyes, or the pity in anyone elses, and he stumbled forward until he could rest an arm on a nearby tree.

Suddenly his hearing was creeping back, starting with his own choppy breaths and expanding out to the quiet buzz of the street lamp nearby. He knew the silence behind him wasn't due to his loss of hearing; he looked like a bloody mess right about now. If he was going to die, he should at least have some sort of classy exit, instead of falling like a frail maiden into the snow.

His eyes widened at the sudden realization; _he was going to die_. Not in a couple of decades, not even a couple of months. He had days left at most, but even that was an optimistic view. The bile in his throat left him gagging for air and his vision began to tunnel into the blackness he knew so well.

/What if I die right here and now? Isn't your life supposed to flash before your eyes? Shouldn't you be aware of your own demise, or at least reach some sort of inner peace? What happens to the spirit when the body disappears? And what happens to the people left behind?/

* * *

"Do you really think he's going to be okay?" Luke questioned quietly as he leaned over the bed.

Everyone else had passed out in their own separate rooms, but Jade and Luke were still sitting at the edge of Asch's bed. Luke managed to pull off his stained tunic and torn up shirt so that Jade could treat his wounds, but bothering with the rest seemed to be more trouble than it was worth.

Asch's face was pale and bloody and bruised with his skin stretched too thin over his skeleton frame. His fever had gotten a little better since they'd treated his shoulder, but the shivers still seemed to control Asch's trembling frame. Jade had mentioned something about an infected wound, but Luke couldn't focus on anything much more than staying awake.

"Luke?"

He glanced up and saw a steaming mug held out to him and graciously accepted it with shaky hands. The coffee was too hot and bitter, but he sipped on it anyway.

"He keeps saying there's something he has to do, well that's what he's thinking. It's all just a mess of thoughts now, each one racing to the next and colliding with the other. He'd probably be pissed if he knew that I was being so nosey too, but-" Luke trailed off and looked over at Asch's sweaty forehead and reached for another cold cloth Jade prepped beforehand. He carefully brushed his hair away from his face and laid the towel delicately on his forehead.

"I'd give him a couple of days at most." Jade said quietly before taking another sip of his drink.

"There has to be something-"

"Miracles don't happen twice. It's for the best, as horrible as that is to say. Fomicry will-" Jade stood up and headed towards the door.

"-haunt me for the rest of my life."

The door clicked silently shut, and Jade's full cup stirred at the movement of the door. Luke shifted off the side of Asch's bed and sat down on his own, lost in thought and sorrow.

/What's going to happen to Asch, when he finally disappears? Will I still hear his thoughts echoing in the back of my head? Will I-/

Luke looked up and saw Asch flinch followed by a whimper, something he'd never expected to escape the lips of the fearless Asch.

/So much has changed, no, maybe only Asch has. I haven't grown stronger at all; it was Asch who was protecting me this whole time. No, maybe, he hasn't changed at all. Maybe we just never took the time to really even get to know him, even though he did so much for us on our journey. Maybe nothing changed at all. Will I hear his last, dying thoughts?/

* * *

Asch quietly opened his eyes to a dark room flooded with moonlight from the window.

/That idiot, he didn't even bother to-/

He sat up in his bed and studied the room, immediately seeing Luke's unconscious frame in an awkward sleeping position.

/He must have fallen asleep while still sitting up. His boots are still on, too./

Asch looked down and saw his shirt and tunic were gone and bloody gauze was the only thing separating him from the bitter cold of the room. His chattering teeth versus the unbearable heat beneath his temples meant he had some sort of infection, but it really didn't matter at this point, did it?

Reluctantly, he slid out from the warmth of the covers and found his clothes clean and neatly folded on the desk near the door. All of his bones felt stiff and creaky, like an old machine that hadn't been oiled in years.

/These maids sure do work fast, don't they?/

He happily accepted the warmth of his clothes, but it didn't prevent the shivers running up and down his spine. His weapon was laid out near his bed and he quickly strapped it on along with his boots before stumbling towards the window. It sure was lucky they got a room on the ground floor, or else he could've been easily caught sneaking away.

With one last guilty look back at Luke, he slipped in and out through the silent window pane and headed down the empty streets. It only took moments for him to find out that he was in no shape to be walking, much less conscious, but he had to make it to the port, no matter how long of a walk it was.

It was still dark when he reached the port, and he quickly composed himself to look well enough buy a ticket. Once he was on board, he could sleep all he wanted to, but that was his worst fear of all.

/If I fall asleep, I wonder if I'll ever wake back up?/

He shakily accepted the change the man handed back to him, but the guy gave him an odd glance.

"You all right there, son? You're lookin' a little pale and well, sick."

Asch knew he looked miserable; there was no point in fighting the urge to keep a composed posture in front of the gruff deck hand.

"Sick of the cold, maybe." Asch muttered, followed by a sneeze.

"That's the spirit!" The man yelled while laughing. He gave Asch a harsh pat on the back and seemed to not notice Asch flinch away from the man's touch.

/It's four in the morning, how can he be so energetic?/

Energetic hadn't been a word Asch had in his vocabulary, in fact, he couldn't remember a time when he was free of the constant grip of pain and fear.

"Ah, you can waste a couple of minutes gathering up supplies around the port. The shops never close, you see, for night owls like yourself. We'll have the ship ready to sail within the hour!" He shouted while running up the landing stairs and into the lighted opening on the ship.

With an exasperated sigh, Asch took a seat on a nearby bench and looked up at the stars he'd always thought so fondly of. Keterburg was still his favorite place in Auldrant, maybe even this bench right here would end up being where he died. It was easy to think this would be the last time he would ever be able to look up at the stars or snow. Death didn't seem to bother him anymore, only keeping his promise mattered. Everyone would move on, and as long as he didn't have to see their faces, he could die happily.

/Their faces? Do I really have that many people I care about? It's almost pitiful how soft I've become, but seeing them all again, it'd just be too painful. I can't even imagine Luke's-/

Suddenly it dawned on him exactly what he was doing. Luke, Natalia, everyone was going to wake up and find and empty bed. Maybe they'd all think his fonons had separated completely in his sleep.

/Maybe knowing that I died peacefully with put their mind at ease. Luke, well, I'll just have to make sure I keep my guard up. Which means no sleeping./

The ship's whistle suddenly snapped him out of his daze and he painfully stood up. Walking over to the same exuberant seafarer, he gave a weak smile before heading over to the metal stairs.

"Eh? Asch, isn't that what you said your name was? Didn't you just board the ship?"

Asch turned around with a puzzled look on his face and the man gave him an equally odd look in return.

"The fiery red hair, I swear I saw you running up those stairs. Huh, must be all these late nights getting to me. Oh well, go on ahead. Try to get some sleep, too, you look like a walking zombie!" the man called after him but Asch was already forcing himself up the stairs while trying not to puke. All the color drained out of his face and by the time he was on the main deck, he felt as if he was going to faint.

/If I don't run into him, I can make it through this unscathed. Maybe I have another look-alike running around, too! He couldn't have gotten here faster than me. Well, I was sitting on that bench for a while. Maybe I didn't notice.../

* * *

"How could you just sneak off in the middle of the night like that, you idiot?!" Luke felt himself boiling with anger as he pinned Asch up against a cabin door.

Asch didn't respond but flinched as Luke landed another blow straight across his face.

"Are you not even going to respond?! You coward, you little-"

"I knew you'd act like a child about this, so I left you behind. Big deal!" Asch snarled back, but couldn't seem to free himself of Luke's grip.

This time Asch didn't flinch when Luke hit him, and gave him an icy glare that said more than his words could.

"HEY! SPLIT IT UP YOU TWO!" A bellowing voice called out from behind them.

Luke's face lit up in surprise and fear but he didn't back away from Asch.

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?" Suddenly Luke was lifted up by the back of his shirt and thrown backward. Asch fell to the ground and gasped for air before looking back up at the same man he'd seen at the port. His voice was surprisingly loud for such a short figure, to say the least.

The man roughly picked Asch up from the ground and then softly asked if he was okay. Asch gave a stiff nod, since his throat seemed to be closing in on itself.

"AND YOU! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE RELATED OR WHAT THE HELL YOUR PROBLEM IS, BUT I DON'T ALLOW ANY OF THIS ROUGH-HOUSING ON MY SHIP, GOT THAT?"

Luke quickly pulled himself off of the ground in respect and gave the same fearful nod as Asch did, since he seemed to be at the same loss for words.

"Go to the other deck and stay in your room, you hear me? You can handle your problems off my ship, but until then we're going to get along, RIGHT?" He yelled while crossing his arms. Luke quickly scuffled away from the man and shot an angry look at Asch before leaving the deck.

* * *

Asch hit the ground running as soon as the ship would let him off and only stopped to wave back at the captain. It was already midday when they'd landed, but Asch hadn't slept and time didn't really matter to him now; he just had to make it. He would make it.

Not sleeping was difficult due to the gently rolling boat and soft sea breeze, but Asch just rested his head on the railing near the back of the boat and hung his legs off the side until the sunrise came and swept the snow off the ship. However, storm clouds soon overtook the beautiful rays of sun and left a dark shadow over the port, but the rain still seemed to be hidden up in the clouds. In was only a matter of minutes before all hell broke loose, but at least he was on solid ground before then.

His mind was nearly cracking at the pressure Luke was putting on him as he fought his way through the wilderness. If he couldn't figure out where Asch was going, then there was no way he able to find him in time. But where could he be possibly going from the Kaitzur Naval Port?

"The young man? Is he your brother or something?"

"Or something. Anyway, I just need you to tell me which way he went." Luke said through huffed breaths.

The old woman pushed up her large spectacles and replied, "Oh, I don't know, somewhere off in that direction. Nowhere really to go from here, is there? That's probably why I've been stuck here so long. You know, I've been here so long I saw that mansion in its pride and glory instead of the haunted house it was before. Used to be a maid there, believe it or not, for Duke Fabre. You should probably wait to go after him; this storm looks like a nasty one."

Luke's eyes lit up and he kissed her on the cheek without a second thought, then sprinted off in the direction of Choral Castle.

/In the condition he's in, I'll catch him in no time!/

It was no easy feat navigating through the rough terrain, and on top of that, it began pouring. The storm got so bad that Luke felt himself almost getting caught up in the breeze and whisked away. Eventually he made it to the looming castle and hurried inside, hoping to find some sort of shelter. The monsters had long since left the mansion, and all that remained was a leaky roof and-

Luke froze at the bottom of the steps. The last time they'd been here, there were all kinds of ghosts, specters, the whole nine yards. Asch was still chasing after that ghost, wasn't he?

/But why?/

He ran through the main chambers on the ground floor and found no trace of Asch, or any human beings in general; it was dusty and decrepit and most of all, empty.

/Asch, please. Don't do this to me. You can't just-/

A boom of thunder disturbed his thoughts and shook the entire building, threatening to collapse the whole structure.

"Asch!" He yelled out, and the only response he received was a soft echo throughout the halls.

/He must be up higher!/

It was a long climb and Luke continually slipped on steps and lost his balance, but he didn't have time to be careful; stopping time was all that mattered now. Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky and he braced himself for the rumbling of thunder soon to follow. After the building stopped shaking, he stepped out on the roof of the building and pushed his sopping wet bangs out of his eyes.

"Asch!"

He carefully stepped over to the dark figure slouched over against an old wall, managing not to fall into any of the holes littered across the roof. Asch looked lifeless: his head was drooped down and the wet mess of red hair covered his pale face.

Luke shuddered as another boom of thunder shook the building, but as soon as it passed he bent over Asch and brushed away all of his hair from his pale face. Much to his surprise, Asch's dimming green eyes were still open, but he seemed to be looking at nothing in particular, just staring off into space.

Without looking up, Asch muttered, "Go away."

"What is going on? Do you realize how dangerous it is up here, wait, do you even realize what you are doing? Asch, answer me!" Luke yelled, but didn't get a response or so much of a glance in his direction.

/Has he gone crazy?/

Luke shook his shoulders and forced Asch to look him in the eyes, but he still seemed to be looking far past him into some deeper abyss.

"I'm waiting." He finally said, and Luke let go and sat down next to him. The rain seemed to only be getting worse as it pelted down from the sky and washed off the roof down into the muddy grounds surrounding the mansion. The holes in the roof were now waterfalls, cascading streams of rain down into the building and washing out through the stairs.

"Waiting for what?" Luke sighed. Asch's hair had returned to crowing his face, but he was looking up at the sky instead.

Another sky-shattering streak of lightning flashed before his eyes, piercing the darkness of the storm clouds. This time the thunder was much more violent, and Luke looked around as he uneasily heard the shifting of stones and thuds below their feet.

"He's not here, Asch. We have to get back to the port, or at least to stable ground before the castle collapses!" Luke yelled as he stood up. Asch didn't budge, but he did look over at Luke.

/His eyes… they look dead. There's no emotion left in them, no fire, no sorrow./

Luke roughly jerked him up and Asch didn't complain, but he freed himself of Luke's grip almost immediately and slowly looked around. He seemed lost, almost as if he couldn't remember where he was.

"Let's leave, okay? I'm sure we can look somewhere else and-"

"No. He's here, because I'm here." He said quietly.

"You aren't making any sense!" Luke yelled back and grabbed his wrist. If he had to drag him all the way out, he would.

"Luke-"

"No! I don't want to hear it! You're going to be fine, and we'll fix this, okay?"

"Luke!" Suddenly he felt a tight pull on his arm and looked back at Asch, but the fire was gone from his eyes.

"Don't you get it yet?" He said quietly as he angrily pulled his wrist away from Luke.

"Please don't give up here, not now. Not after we've come so far." Luke pleaded, but Asch backed away from him.

"The ghost, I knew who it was all along, I just didn't realize it."

Before Luke could regain his hold on Asch, the entire sky went up in a flash of light, and before he knew it he was falling in a dissonance of crashing rubble and heavy rain.

* * *

When he reopened his eyes, he realized one thing: he was alive. He also noticed how soaking wet he was, in fact, he'd landed into a pool of water, narrowly missing the giant pieces of rubble around. The thunder died down and all that was left was a soft rain, but the damage was done. The entire ceiling caved in and some of the walls were on the verge of collapsing in, too.

Luke slowly picked himself up and was pleasantly surprised that nothing was broken, he just felt like he'd been beaten to death. Warily picking away at the pieces of rubble, he suddenly realized that they were in the basement of Choral Castle, well, the destroyed, abandoned basement. Everything was rusted over and fizzing with electricity from the storm.

/I should probably avoid water at all costs with all these loose wires around.../

"Hmm? You aren't the one I'm looking for."

Luke jumped out of his skin at the voice and turned around, only to meet the gaze of the same dark figure he'd been traveling with.

"I don't know what your damn problem is, but whatever you're making Asch do is-"

"Me? Make Asch do something? He's not the sort of guy." The boy responded as he climbed up on a piece of stone and took a seat. He monotonously swung his feet back and forth before murmuring, "Any minute now."

"Where's Asch!" Luke yelled back, but the specter just smirked and didn't respond.

"Don't you get it yet, you idiot? You stupid, insignificant little waste of space? I am Asch! I've always been Asch! That's my name, it's all mine!" The ghost jumped off from the stone and walked over to Luke angrily.

"W-What?!" Luke yelped in surprise.

"When they created you, you horrible little replica, they didn't piece Asch all back together again! You know he's been dying, even before you left him all alone in Eldrant, because they created you? They didn't do it right, but Dist had no idea what'd they missed, and if Asch was still alive, then everything was fine, right? Wrong!"

/The hair, the face, the attitude; it's just a stewing, seven-year old Asch./

"What are you laughing at!? Do you think its funny that you're only alive because someone else is dying for you?" The boy yelled.

"I didn't know, honestly, I wouldn't have if-"

"Luke, stop it."

Luke turned around and saw Asch pull himself out of what looked like an undefinable amount of rubble. He was dripping wet and his hair was even worse, but then again Luke had no room to talk.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were dying, back before Eldrant? You helped us so much back then, maybe we could have fixed it, maybe we could've-"

"Luke, I said stop it. There was no point in telling you because you'd just get mopey and sentimental about something you can't even control." Asch snapped back over his sympathetic tone.

"Go away, Luke. I hate you." The little boy muttered.

Luke looked over at the boy for a moment and saw that he meant it; his eyes were burning red with hatred and his body was a swirling black mass of fonons. Asch was slowly walking around the circular space of wrecked technology and rubble they'd fallen into.

"What do you expect to do now, Asch?" Luke mumbled as he sat down on the clinking metal.

"I came all the way here, I think it's that ghost's turn to decide." Asch said.

"Easy. All you have to do it put my soul at peace and I'll leave this wretched castle." He said happily and walked over to Asch.

"And how do I do that?" Asch asked quietly as he stared back into the abyssal figure.

The boy looked over at Luke and then back at Asch. "Kill him."


	21. The Perfect Replica

"Is this a joke?" Luke yelled as he backed away from the boy.

"No, it's not a joke. I want you dead." He replied monotonously.

Asch shook his head before muttering, "You know I can't do that."

The boy growled and stomped back over to Luke. He slowly circled around him before sweetly saying, "You'd fight to keep Asch alive, right? Maybe if I know you aren't such a bad person, I could get used to the idea of keeping you alive."

"Of course I would! Besides, I can't fix what's happened. Wishing other people dead just makes things worse." Luke replied with a cheerful yet determined tone.

"Luke get away from him!" Asch yelled, but it was too late. The boy gave a sweet laugh before dissolving into Luke's body and disappearing completely.

/Idiot!/

"Wha-What's happening?!" Luke yelled as he held his hands out in front of him. Suddenly he unsheathed his sword and pointed it over in Asch's direction.

"This isn't me, I swear Asch!" Luke yelled and he ran forward with the sword. Asch jumped to the side of the blow and narrowly missed the clash of metal on stone.

"What's wrong, Asch? If you don't pull out your weapon you're going to get chopped to pieces!" A dark voice called out.

/He think's that I'll kill Luke to save myself, doesn't he?/

He couldn't respond as the hilt of Luke's sword was jabbed straight into his stomach, sending him into a coughing fit from the lack of air. Asch didn't even bother pulling himself up off the ground; he wasn't going to fight.

"Killing me here is pretty pointless." Asch sighed as he felt a blade sway past his face.

"Who are you? You aren't Asch! They put the wrong soul in my body; there's no way I'd turn out to be such a pitiful, weak, disgusting idiot like you! I'd fight for my life, I'd do anything if I could just-" Luke yelled, although it was the ghost speaking through him.

"You could just what? Change the past? See princess Natalia again? Hate to break it to you, but everyone's moved on. The entire world has moved past one insignificant little death and I am not fighting because I have nothing to fight for. And if I don't, then neither do you." Asch said bitterly.

"You don't have the right to tell me what I can and can't do! If you are so weak, then why don't you just let yourself die then!?" The boy yelled and swiped at Asch recklessly.

"I haven't been dodging anything, you've just been missing." Asch replied. His face was sliced in many places, but the wounds were only minor incisions that covered his skin.

"It's not me, it's this damned body!" The boy shrieked before dropping the sword suddenly. After a few seconds of what seemed like an internal dispute within Luke's body, Luke got a horrible smirk painted over his face, something that reminded Asch so much of himself that it sickened him.

"If I have nothing to live for, then I'll die within this idiot's body! It's close enough to my own, right?" Luke mocked.

He followed the other's gaze and noticed a large pool of water created by fallen rocks, slowly growing from fresh streams of cascading water. The surface of the water seemed to spark every-so-often and Asch slowly connected the wires from the machine to the water with his eyes.

Asch jumped up and wrapped his arms around Luke's waist just before he stepped in. Luke struggled against him, but Asch pulled so hard that they both fell backward onto the floor. He quickly pinned Luke down and held his wrists stiffly against the ground.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Luke shrieked as he struggled to get out from under Asch.

/To think, I used to feel the same thing as that ghost about Luke my entire life./

"Get out of his body." He said fiercely in response to Luke's struggles. After a few more seconds Luke went limp and unconscious and Asch stood up.

The black cloud of fonons manifested itself once again in front of him, except the eyes were a deep green instead of the red they were before.

"You can't change the past, and you of all people should know that."

"But if I let go of my hatred, my reason for living, then-" The boy began trembling as he dragged his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Are you, of all people, afraid of death? Aren't you Asch, who'd do anything just to keep moving forward?" Asch said.

The boy gave him a smirk and replied, "To think I'd take advice from someone as pitiful as you."

Suddenly the dark mass of fonons began to glow until he was a luminous, white form. He held out his hand and said, " These belong to you, I think."

Asch reached out for his hand and as he grasped the boy's fingers, the light grew stronger until Asch could no longer see. When he reopened his eyes, the boy was gone, but his hand was still glowing.

/They're your fonons, aren't they? Do something important with the time you've got left, dreck!/

"Thank you." Asch said quietly. The rain had died down to a slight drizzle and Asch could see a passageway through the rubble that led back to one of the upper floors. He picked up Luke with much more ease than he expected and found out that he had much more strength than before. Now he just had to escape the labyrinth of misty ruins.

* * *

"Asch!" Luke yelled as he sat up in bed.

"Stop yelling, you idiot!" Asch hissed back.

He looked around and realized they were back on the same ship as before. Asch was sitting in a chair nearby Luke's bed and had obviously been fighting off sleep the entire voyage. The only light in the room was the soft glow of the moon pouring in through the window. Wait, they?

"You're, you're alive! And I'm-" Luke looked around bewildered at the tiny cabin as if he'd just woken up in a palace.

"You should've just let me handle it." Asch sighed as he leaned back in the chair.

"How can you just say stuff like that? You're the idiot trying to handle it all by yourself, almost getting yourself killed, and leaving us all behind, and just, just everything!" Luke yelled back.

Asch didn't look over at him but stiffly stood up before heading over to the door. "I screwed up again. Sorry."

"No, wait!" Luke yelled and Asch flinched with the door halfway open.

A few moments of silence passed before Asch said, "Well?"

"What are you going to do now? Are you just going to disappear again, like always?" Asch didn't reply and left the room silently.

Luke jumped out from under the covers and followed Asch out of the room and to the main deck. The entire atmosphere around them had changed from the stuffy little cabin to the huge expanse of fluttering snowflakes that danced upon the ship's deck. The freezing sea breeze almost had him convinced to rush back inside the cabin and back under the covers, but he fought off his shivers and crossed the deck over to where Asch was.

"Aren't you cold?" Luke chattered out as he pulled his arms in tighter. It was obvious Asch was by the way he was trembling in his boots and huffing out little clouds of ice crystals, but he refused to answer and angrily stared off into the sea.

After a long period of silence, Luke backed away into the cabin and drew forth two blankets from within. He avoided Asch's protests and wrapped one around him before sitting down on the deck himself and hiding in the warmth of the blanket. Asch eventually gave in and sat down next to Luke.

"Hey, Luke."

"What is it?"

It took a while for Asch to muster up a response, but he eventually asked, "What would you do if, you know, you were me?"

"You're asking me for advice? You must be really desperate!" Luke said sarcastically.

"Dammit, you know what, forget it!" Asch yelled and tried to get up.

Luke grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the ground before saying, " Hey, hey! I was only kidding. Well, first I'd probably go talk to Natalia and-"

"Natalia has a fiancé and a country to take care of. The last thing either side needs is someone stirring up more political drama, and that's never really been my strength anyway. If she was willing to formally accept his proposal, she made her choice. It's better that we both just move on." Asch interjected.

"But you and Natalia were meant for each other! I mean, there has to be some way-"

"Don't you think I would've already thought of another alternative, Luke? There are some things you have to accept."

They both fell silent after Asch's words and looked off into the dark waters. The expanse of black water met the dim, twilight sky, both mirror images of each other with the ocean reflecting the stars' glow on each wave and puddling all the moonlight in little pockets across the sea. They looked so identical, the sky and the waves, in their monochrome scheme.

"Guy once told me that I should just 'do what I can', but even I'm not really sure what he meant." Luke said quietly.

"Just do what you can, hmm?" Asch mumbled.

"Maybe you could come back to the manor, and we can-" Luke stopped talking as Asch's glare became more intense as he continued.

"Well, you will come visit, right? At least for mother's sake, you don't even have to see Natalia and I if you don't want to."

"Visiting people, and planning out the future, and solving political problems; it's all just so-"

"So, what? So normal?" Luke laughed and punched him in the shoulder. Even Asch gave out a small smirk at the thought of both of their lives being _normal._

"There's the port up ahead. I'd better think of some good apologies."

* * *

They both silently slipped in the window Asch had first crept out of and gave out a sigh of relief as they entered the dark, warm room. It appeared as if they hadn't woken anyone up, and maybe, just once, they could get a good nights sleep before reuniting with everyone.

"What-"

/Or not./

The lights flashed on, and the pair realized that all five angry glares were directed on them.

"Were-"

Asch and Luke gave alarmed glances over at each other and tried to back out through the window, only to be blocked by Guy.

"You-"

Asch ducked as an unidentified object flew past his head and a stewing Natalia readied her arm to throw something over at Luke.

"Two idiots-"

Luke and Asch shot hurt glances at Jade's insult, but they both knew it was well deserved. He didn't even look angry, just amused and curious.

"DOING?"

* * *

"Did you really have to hit Asch with a frying pan, Natalia?"

"Anise, how could you even ask me that? It was absolutely necessary!"

"Luke didn't really deserve all those books you threw at him, Tear."

"Do you want me to hit you instead of him, Guy!"

"Aah, stop touching me!"

"No, wait, shhh! They're both waking up!" Anise hissed.

The second he woke up he felt another smack to the back of his head and Asch and Luke let out a communal, "Ow!"

"Now, now, I would like an explanation before you four gang up on them again." Jade said as he tried to keep the angry group at bay.

"We were busy." Asch hissed out as he rubbed the back of his head.

"_Busy_? You both disappear for a whole day and the best answer you've got was that you both were _busy_?!" Tear yelled out.

"Settle down, both of you, I'm really too old for all this excitement. Busy with what, dare I ask?" Jade said.

"Wouldn't believe us if I told you." Asch muttered.

Jade narrowed his eyes before continuing, "Hmm, I suppose not. Whatever you both were up to seems to have worked since Asch isn't a walking corpse anymore, so I guess I can't complain."

A fire sparked in Asch's eyes and he started on a long string of expletives until Luke interrupted and said, "So, now what?"

Everyone suddenly fell quiet until Jade murmured, "A teary goodbye and we all go our separate ways, I'm assuming? It seems like our little adventure is over."

Natalia spoke up and said, "Asch, I-"

"You have a country to save and a fiancé who is waiting for you." Asch said, keeping all the emotion out of his voice.

"But, I- no, you're right." She said quietly before leaving the room.

"That's not how these things are supposed to go, Asch! You're supposed to chase her down and have the wedding of your dreams, and, ugh!" Anise whined as she pulled at his hair.

"I think you handled that extremely professionally, Asch. I'm surprised that you were willing to let her go, but splitting up such a political marriage would surely cause even more chaos." Jade said as sympathetically as he could.

"Oh, boo! I'm going to bed, and I'd better see both of you jerks in the morning, right, Luke?" She said sternly before Luke gave a nervous nod.

"Guy, Jade, can i have a word with you outside?" Asch said absent-mindedly before stiffly pulling himself up out of his chair.

* * *

"I'm not crying!" Anise yelled as she hugged Luke tightly around the waist.

"It's not like we aren't going to see each other again!" Luke said frantically as she continued to sob.

"So, it's decided that Anise and I will head back to Daath while Luke and Natalia go to Baticul. I'm assuming that Jade and Guy are heading back to Grand Chokmah, but what about you, Asch?" Tear said curiously.

"I've decided that I'll go with Jade and Guy. After we give the report, I'm heading to Sheridan."

"Sheridan?"

"Believe it or not, but Asch probably knows more than me about fontech! With Jade and his help, I'm sure we'll have a breakthrough on the fonic conservation machines within weeks!" Guy said excitedly as he ruffled up Asch's hair.

Asch quickly swatted him away before grumbling, "If I can stand to be around you for that long."

"With all the research Dist compiled, along with Asch's uncanny ability to use fonic artes without depleting them from the Planet Storm, it shouldn't take long at all to make some prototypes that- oh, I'm sorry Luke, am I hurting your head a little too much? Maybe Asch can explain for me." Jade said while shooting an apprehensive look in Asch's direction.

"Just come by Sheridan some time, alright? I doubt you'll ever understand it no matter how many times I explain it." Asch said quietly.

"I can't believe you're choosing to hang out with those two. Well, I'll make sure to visit!" Luke said with a grin he couldn't seem to wipe off. It occurred to him that Asch wasn't as happy as he was at all, and he followed Asch's miserable glance till he noticed Natalia standing down by the dock.

"At least say goodbye to her, Asch." Guy said softly.

* * *

Asch stumbled his way over to where Anise and Natalia were arguing near the port, but when Anise saw him out of the corner of her eye she nervously yelled, " Uh-oh, Jade's calling me!"

"I wonder what that was all about?" Natalia said thoughtfully before she noticed Asch. She jumped back in surprise but quickly recovered her stiff composure.

"Natalia, I came to say goodbye." Asch said weakly. He wasn't going to lose his front now, not after he'd been doing so well. He felt his head spinning and his heart beating heavy beneath his chest. This isn't what he wanted at all, but he'd never really had a choice in his own fate.

"Asch, is this really how you want things to end between us? I thought-" She said, but bit her lip and didn't finish her sentence.

"This is how it has to be." He said while closing his eyes to regain his composure. His head was a mess and his knee's felt weak, but the pressure on his mind was definitely not his own doing. Luke was trying to force his way into Asch's thoughts, maybe even convince him to say something rather than his planned speech.

/He's going to mess everything up! I have to stay strong, no matter what. No matter what, we can't end up together, no matter how much I-/

"Bastard." Asch muttered and Natalia gave him a shocked look.

"Oh, no, not you Natalia. I, uhm, no, just write to me when you give the news of your report, alright?" He stuttered out.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me, Asch. Then I'll accept your goodbye." Natalia said quietly.

Asch looked up at her and couldn't help to commiserate with the sadness brimming in her hazel eyes. The storm that was brewing within his own skin matched the commanding, fierce thunder in her eyes.

He took a deep breath and focused on the facts. This was how it was supposed to be; this was how it had to end.

"I-I don't-"

"Don't lie to me! I can see it in your eyes, you don't believe a word you're saying, Asch! Why are you doing this?" She yelled out before he could finish.

He looked back up at her and gave a weak smile. "Because, I promised a certain girl that one day, when we both grew up, that we'd change this world. And when I said those words, I knew right then and there, that we would never be able to keep our promise and be together."

"Please don't do this, Asch!" She cried out as he began to walk away.

He turned back and looked into her teary eyes, biting back the own that were stinging his eyes, and said, "I love you, Natalia. And that is why we can't be together."

* * *

Asch watched as Luke and Natalia slowly boarded their ship. Anise and Tear's had left earlier and much to everyone's surprise, she boldly gave Luke a kiss before hopping on board with Anise.

"We'll see each other again, right, Asch?" Luke said.

"Of course we will, idiot." Asch smirked but soon met Natalia's gaze and he regained his usual frown.

With a wave over in Guy and Jade's direction- Guy had already given Luke a long lecture about women and then a cheerful goodbye- the pair boarded the ship.

"Keep your promise, and I'll keep mine, right?" Asch said weakly as Natalia continued to look at him.

She nodded solemnly and followed Luke onto the ship. The whistle blew as soon as they boarded, and the ship began to pull away from the port.

Asch looked down at his hand and watched it fade in and out of translucently, just as it had done for the entire day. Suddenly a spark appeared in Luke's eyes, as if he'd suddenly realized what was going on; _Asch had been lying. He wasn't going to Sheridan. He was going to die._

"No! Stop this ship, now!"

Asch shook his head as he heard Luke's yelling grow more frantic and distant.

"Dirty work, indeed, Asch." Jade said as he looked over at Asch's quickly fading body. Jade slowly passed his hand straight through his chest.

"No heart in there after all, huh?" He joked.

"Thank you both for doing this for me." Asch said solemnly while ignoring Jade.

Guy shook his head in disgust before saying, "I didn't do it for you, I did it for Luke."

Asch watched as his fingertips began to dissolve into little gold sparks and murmured, "It's the same thing either way. Tell Luke-"

"Tell me what?"

Everyone whirled around and saw a soaking wet Luke.

"Don't tell me you swam all the way back?" Guy gasped.

Luke ignored him and ran up to Asch. He tried to hit him, but his fist just passed right on through Asch's body. After a couple of seconds, Luke broke down and yelled, "Why, Asch? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to see me like this. I guess old habits die hard, huh?" Asch replied weakly.

"We can fix this, right, Jade? There's still time and-" Jade pushed up his glasses and walked away before Luke could finish. Guy followed after him quietly and if Asch didn't know any better, he saw him wiping the corners of his eyes.

"How long did you know? Asch!" Luke said angrily. Asch watched as he was starting to fall apart faster, his skin dissolving into the gold aura surrounding him.

"I know it sounds stupid after how I pushed you away, but I'm so happy you were here so I could say goodbye." Luke felt his heart collapse as he looked at Asch's pale skin; he looked so happy, with a genuine smile and eyes brimming with a bright green warmth.

"Stop it, Asch! You aren't going to disappear! You aren't!" Luke cried out.

"There are no perfect endings, Luke. I can't thank you enough, you and everyone else. You gave my existence meaning, something I never had before." The golden vines of light began to trail Asch's skin like veins and his hair began to light up as if each strand was a fuse. The maroon soon faded to a honeyed aura that lined his fading eyes.

"Asch, no!" Luke sobbed as he could no longer see him within the golden glow.

"Thank you for everything, Luke."

There was a short pause, followed by a voice that matched the chimes of tinkling bells in the breeze.

"Goodbye."

Luke heard the voice slowly echo away and the golden embrace around him began to dissolve. All the warmth that had surrounded him, the buzz in his mind, an entire part of his soul disappeared into the thin winter air. His head felt as hollow as his heart and Luke knew there was nothing left for him to do. Asch was gone; his thoughts, his actions, even his sarcastic comments were all gone, never to be remembered or heard from again.

"Goodbye, Asch." Luke said quietly.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up. He was going to become strong, stronger than Asch. He was going to protect everyone; he would never lose anyone close to him again. As he watched the gold sparkles dissolve into the air like snowflakes, he strengthened his resolve and made a silent promise to Asch.

He would become the perfect replica.

* * *

**A/N: I honestly can't believe I finally finished this huge project, and it's a little bittersweet to say the least. I might come in later and rewrite some scenes and edit others, but for the most part, this project is complete. Thank you guys so much for reading, especially those of you who have followed this story from the very beginning. Tell me what you think, and again, thank you!**


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